Strike
by SnowWolf22
Summary: Strike's used to patrolling the crime-riddled city of Gotham with his partner, Robin. However, what he's not used to is being on a Team with other young heroes. For him, this may take some getting used to. Though the Team was primarily formed to prove themselves to the League, the heroes feel an unbreakable bond forming. They've become a family, meaning no one gets left behind.
1. Striking Out

**A/N: Alright, for those of you that have read this story already, I've rearranged a few chapters. This chapter was the third but now, obviously, it's the first.  
**

**For those of you just joining us, I will tell you this, this story will follow the plot but I hope to have a lot more "and then somes." I plan on introducing a key character in Season Two in this season. No, it is not another OC but I will not reveal which character it is. You'll just have to guess or do a deductive reasoning thing. **

**Anyways, this chapter just delves more into Strike's past, introduces his relations and explains how he came to find himself in the Batfamily. So enjoy and remember, leave a review! :D**

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**GOTHAM CITY  
June 23, 21:36 EDT**

Sirens wailed in the distance as a couple pairs of feet pounded on concrete. Racing from rooftop to rooftop, Strike gracefully flipped over an alley, closely followed by his partner, Robin. Just a short distance ahead of them, laughing, was Scorn, who, along with Wrath, intervened when the Bat trio attempted to stop a robbery. Although the robbery was successfully stopped, they failed to apprehend Wrath and Scorn which has in turn led them to splitting up to track down the two villains.

"Come on Bat Brats!" Scorn taunted, flashing the trailing heroes a smirk, "This isn't even a challenge!"

"You should really keep your brothers on a leash!" Robin shouted over to his partner. Strike shook his head, flipping over yet another alley. Oh what Strike would do if he could just keep his brothers on a leash. Lord knows his life would be a lot less hectic if his brothers were tethered down.

"Yea," Strike called back, rolling his eyes, "And while we're at it, why don't we teach them tricks and how to be good!"

Robin let out a laugh, "That's the spirit!" Strike chuckled as they continued to pursue Scorn. At least he had Robin to make light of a situation.

The duo landed on another roof before skidding to a halt. Looking around, they realized something. Scorn had vanished.

Groaning, Strike turned towards Robin, "Did you teach him your ninja vanishing act?"

"Please! That's a trademark Robin move!" Robin turned towards Strike arms crossed. His eyes narrowed as a sarcastic remark about Scorn sat on the tip of his tongue. Before it could escape his lips, Strike spoke up, voice slightly more venomous than he intended.

"One more sarcastic remark about my brothers and I'll rip your tongue off."

Robin unconsciously took a step back, "Sheesh," He retorted, "I think they're starting to rub off on you." Strike sent a glare Robin's way, to which Robin held up his hands, "Sorry, sorry. I'm done." Strike huffed as he turned back on his partner.

_Damn his brothers._ Strike thought with a low growl. Running a hand through his hair, Strike glanced around at the view he had. The sun had set long ago, leaving Gotham shrouded in darkness. The bright lights of the city combined with the dull fog that permanently lingered in the Gotham air gave the city an eerie feel to it.

Strike had to admit though, no matter how crime riddled or dark this city seemed, there was some good to it. Turning his head to the side, Strike stole a glance at his partner, Robin, the original Boy Wonder. To Strike though, Robin was so much more. He was Strike's savior. If it weren't for him, he'd be working with his brothers, fighting against his best friend, living a life of crime.

"_Come on Fury!" Wrath snapped, gripping his younger brother's arm firmly in his hand, "Keep up will you!"_

"_I'm trying!" Fury cried out, attempting to slip out of his brother's grip. The attempt was futile though, Wrath just increased the pressure._

_Spinning around, Wrath glared down at his baby brother, "You told us you were ready!"_

"_I am ready," Fury mumbled, not meeting his brother's eyes. Wringing his hands, Fury stared at his boot clad feet. It was true, Fury felt ready, but to him, this life didn't feel right. His parents hadn't been the greatest role models, sure, but they'd never approve of what his brother's had become. To Gotham, his brother's had become known as the Anti-Batman and Anti-Robin. A title young Fury didn't see reason to be proud of. In fact, Fury felt the exact opposite about it. He had looked up to Batman ever since the caped crusader had made his first appearance. However, he did feel a bit of resentment towards the Dark Knight and Boy Wonder. After all, it was them who threw his parents in jail. It was their fault their family was torn apart. And for what? A simple robbery? It just wasn't fair. _

_Why couldn't the Mallory family have better fortune like Bruce Wayne? The man lived alone in a huge mansion! He could share. After all, Fury did happen to be one of Richard Grayson's close friends. That had to mean something. Right? _

"_Then let's go!" Wrath growled, snapping his brother out of his thoughts. Fury glanced up, finally meeting his brothers gaze. With a meek nod, Fury slowly stumbled after his brothers. _

"Dude," A voice called out, snapping Strike back into reality, "Are you okay?"

Strike turned his head to the side, meeting the concerned gaze of his partner. Nodding, Strike replied, "Yea, just lost in thoughts." Strike flashed Robin a meek smile.

"Okay," Robin gave Strike a curious look, but chose to ignore it, "Come on, let's get moving." The duo quickly took off, racing across the Gotham skyline.

As the wind whipped Strike's face, Strike couldn't help but remember the first time he had raced along these very rooftops.

"_Where are we going?" Fury called out to his brothers as he struggled to keep up. _

_Scorn slowed his pace, glancing back at his baby brother, "The bank." _

"_Why?" Fury innocently questioned. A part of him knew the reason, he just didn't want to accept it._

_Scorn smirked, "We're going to make a withdrawal." Fury scrunched his nose, confused by the word._

"_What's a with draw all?" He questioned, flipping gracefully over an alley. _

_Before Scorn could answer, Wrath spoke up, "Quite the chit chat. We're here." _

_Fury stopped, skidding to a halt on the edge of the roof. Glancing down, he watched the flashing lights of the police cars as the wailing of the sirens pierced the night air. _

"_What's the game plan?" Scorn glanced over at Wrath, who was evidently the brains of the trio. _

_Wrath shrugged, taking in the whole scene, "We need to slip past the police line, unnoticed, before we create out diversion, allowing Penguin to escape." His gaze trailed up to the roof. The corners of his lips curled up as he figured out their entrance, "The roof. They don't have it covered and we can go in through the vent." Wrath turned, glancing at the youngest of the trio, "Think you can handle that Fury?"_

_Fury gulped nervously, but nodded none the less, "Y-yea. Go in through the vents."_

_A small, proud smile settled on Wrath's lips, "Good. Now you're getting the hang of it." _

_Wrath launched a grapple gun across to the banks roof. As soon as it latched on, the trio took off, gliding unnoticed to the roof of the bank. _

_As soon as they were across, Wrath made his way over to the vent. Quickly removing the vent, Wrath set it on the ground before he waved his brothers over, "Quick, let's go!" _

_Just as Scorn was about to enter the vent, an object came flying out of nowhere. It lodged itself into the side of the vent before it went off, spewing smoke everywhere. _

_Fury's hands immediately flew up to his face, attempting to dissipate the smoke. A cough escaped his lips as he accidently inhaled some of the smoke. It was soon followed by more coughs until finally the smoke cleared, revealing the Dynamic Duo. _

_Fury's eyes widened, a mixture of fear and awe flashing in his mind. Here he was, the great Dark Knight standing in front of him! _

"_Wrath," Batman growled, glaring at Fury's eldest sibling, "Should've known you'd be here." _

_Wrath smirked, "Well, well, well, Batsy. It seems like you're catching on." Batman's eyes narrowed, not even the slightest amused by Wrath's taunt. _

_A stare down began between the heroes and villains, leaving Fury not knowing what to do. While his oldest brother was having a stare down with Batman, Scorn was sneering at a pissed Robin. Fury, subconsciously, moved closer to Scorn, the brother nearest to him. _

_With the sudden movement, time seemed to slow down. Batman, slightly startled by the movement, flickered his gaze over to the young Fury. His eyes narrowed even more as he returned his gaze back to the two villains in front of him, glaring at them, "You brought a child into this!?" Batman yelled, fists clenching at his sides._

_Wrath scoffed, crossing his arms, "Please," He gestured to Robin, "Don't be such a hypocrite!" _

_As the two began to argue, Robin couldn't help but peer curiously at the newcomer. Robin couldn't place it, but something about the kid's timid nature seemed familiar to him. _

_Fury glanced at Robin as the Boy Wonder stepped closer to him. Taking a step back, Fury found himself pressed against the side of the vent. Feeling trapped, he glared at the Boy Wonder._

"_Hey," The Boy Wonder called out, arms raised, "I'm not going to hurt you," He cracked a small, lopsided grin, "I just want to help you!"_

"_Help me?" Fury sneered, anger beginning to course through him. How dare he say Fury needed help! He didn't need help. He had his brothers! "I don't need help!" _

_Robin, sensing Fury's anger, took a slight step back, "I didn't mean anything by it I ju-"Robin was cut off when Fury tackled him. _

_The two young boys rolled on the ground until they came to a stop, Fury on top. True to his name, Fury was furious. Whether it was at his brothers for dragging him into this mess or at Robin for insinuating he needed help, Fury wasn't sure. All he knew as that he was pissed and had the perfect target to take it out on: Robin. _

_Fury's fist came down, punching Robin with all the force his small body could muster. Almost instantaneously blood began to gush out of the young hero's nose. Robin growled before he quickly pushed the young villain off of him. _

_Standing up, Fury snarled at Robin while Robin did the same. The duo circled each other, waiting for the other to attack. Fury, taking his eyes of his opponent for a few seconds, watched as his older, more experienced brothers fought against Batman, who was just barely holding his own. _

_Just as Fury's eyes returned back to Robin, a fist collided with his face, sending him staggering back. As he stumbled backwards, trying to regain his balance, Fury miscalculated the distance between him and the edge of the building. With a startled shout, Fury went tumbling over the edge of the building. _

"_JACE!" A voice, most likely Scorns, cried out as Fury's body twisted and turned through the air. As the wind whipped around him, Fury's cape engulfed him, blocking his view of the rapidly approaching ground. _

_All around him, Fury heard screaming, but he soon realized the screaming was coming from him. As soon as he realized that, Fury came to the conclusion he was going to die. His body was going to hit the ground with a sickening thud and he was going to die. _

_Before his body even came close to the ground, an oof escaped Fury's lips as an arm wrapped around his torso, snapping him upwards and stopping his plummet. As soon as his feet touched the concrete, Fury fell to his knees. Never had he been so happy to be on solid ground. _

"_Are you okay?" Fury's blood ran cold when he recognized the voice. Slowly standing up, Fury turned towards his savior, who gasped. _

"_Y-you save me," Fury whispered, glancing down at the ground. His mind was trying to grasp the fact that he had just been saved, by a hero none the less! _

_Robin cracked a small grin, "Of course, Jace. I couldn't just let my best friend die." _

_Fury's head snapped up, eyes wide as he stared at Robin incredulously, "I… w-what?" Fury stuttered, more confused than ever. H-how did Robin know who he was?_

_As if reading his mind, Robin pointed to his eyes, "Your mask is gone." _

_Jace's hands immediately flew up to his face, feeling for the mask that was no longer there. Sometime during his freefall, his mask must have flown off, "I, y-you're not going to tell Batman? Right?" _

"_No, but Jace," Robin began, voice small and hesitant. Jace stared at Robin as the Boy Wonder reached up before, with a quick tug, he removed his mask. Jace went wide eyed, gasping as Richard Grayson's blue eyes met Jace Mallory's green orbs, "Why are you doing this?" _

_Jace frowned, replying softly, "My parents are gone. You know that." _

"_So?"_

"_So?" Jace's head snapped up, "My brothers are all I have left!" _

"_That's not true," Dick replied, stepping forward. He hesitantly set a gloved hand on Jace's shoulder as he smiled reassuringly, "You have me." _

_Jace bit his lip, letting Dick's words sink in. Dick was right, Jace did have him. Over the course of the past couple months, the two nine year olds had grown close, bonding over the fact they each had lost their parents. The only difference being who took them in. Dick got a lucky break seeing as Bruce Wayne took him in. Whereas the Anderson's, a middle class family who happened to be close friends of the Mallory's, took Jace and his brothers in. Jace couldn't complain though, the Anderson's were nice and loved him and his brother's like their own. Although, that opinion might change if they discovered the trios nightly habits. _

"_That doesn't matter," Jace glanced down, trying to ignore the sick feeling in his stomach. _

"_Jace," Dick said softly, "Let Bruce and I help you." _

"_I-"_

"_Fury!" A voice called out. Reacting quickly, Dick slapped on his mask while Jace snagged his from the ground before placing it over his eyes. _

_Turning around, Fury looked up at where the voice came from. Quickly approaching the ground was his brothers, with Batman not too far behind them. _

_With a soft thud, the trio landed on the ground before they all stepped behind their 'sidekick.' _

_Wrath's hand clamped down on Fury's shoulder, causing the latter to flinch in pain slightly, "Let's go," Wrath growled, still glaring at Batman, "We're getting out of here." Fury nodded his head, not bothering to respond to his brother. _

_As Wrath guided Fury up a fire escaped and away from the heroes, Fury glanced at them once more, catching Robin's eye. With one last sympathetic glance at his friend, Robin disappeared into the shadows, after his mentor. _

"Strike look out!" Robin shouted, knocking Strike out of the way just as a knife lodged into the ground where he once was.

With a growl, Strike was brought back into reality as he glared at his brother, Scorn, who stepped out of the shadows. Twirling a gleaming knife in his hand, Scorn smirked at his brother, "What's the matter baby bro? Something on your mind?"

Strike stood up with a snarl, "Are you trying to kill me?!"

Scorn's smirk grew as he sauntered over to the heroes, "Naah. I'm aiming to maim, not kill. Besides, mommy dearest would have my head if I killed you."

Scorn's smirk shifted into a sneer as Strike launched himself at his brother. Quickly stepping to the side, Strike dove right past him. But, much to Scorn's dismay, Strike didn't go splat. Instead he landed in a roll before popping back up to his feet.

Scorn frowned, "It seems you've learned a new trick."

"It seems you've noticed," Strike retorted with a smirk.

This time, Scorn was the first to attack. He ran at Strike and threw a left hook. Strike blocked it with his wrist and aimed of punch of his own. Scorn did a back handspring, narrowly avoiding the punch but he wasn't out of harm's way yet. Strike lashed out with his foot, catching Scorn's ankles as he landed.

Scorn stumbled backwards, an impressed smile settling on his face, "Y'know," He mused, circling his brother, "Are you sure you don't want to go back to working with Wrath and I? Your talents are wasted as a hero."

Strike growled, glaring at his brother, "Haven't we had this conversation?"

Shrugging, Scorn replied, "This conversation will continue to happen. You know that right? Until the day you-"

Scorn went flying across the rooftop, Robin in tow seeing as the Boy Wonder tackled the villain, "You two sure know how to make a guy feel like a third wheel!" Robin chided as he pinned down Scorn.

"Aw, babe. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel jelo-" Strike's boot connected with Scorn's abdomen, shutting the villain up.

"Can it," Strike growled, stooping down and handcuffing the villain. He turned back around and glanced at Robin, "Now we call Batman?"

Robin nodded, walking away, "I'll call him. Just watch Scorn." Strike nodded his head in agreement.

"Hey!" Scorn protested, struggling in his bonds, "_I'm_ the older brother! I should be the one babysitting him! Not the other way ar- off." Strike plopped down, landing directly on his brother's back.

"You should shut up."

"And you should lose some weight." Scorn puffed out between breaths. Choosing to not acknowledge the comment, Strike just bounced slightly, causing his brother to grunt in pain.

Resting his hands on his knees, Strike waited for Batman to arrive, hopefully with Wrath in tow. Strike had to admit, it'd be nice to have one night without them, seeing as they'd be back tomorrow.

Whenever the villainous duo were captured, they stayed in a jail cell until they could be transferred to Belle Reve or some other penitentiary seeing as they weren't deemed insane enough for Arkham. But, being the anti to Gotham's vigilantes, they _always_ managed to escape. No matter what.

Strike had learned that the first time they managed to capture his brothers.

_The shrill school bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. The once silent classroom erupted into cheers and screams as classes of rowdy third graders raced out of the classrooms and into the hallways. _

_Walking through the loud hall, Jace kept his head down. It had only been a few days since the bank incident and so far, he'd been able to avoid Dick the whole time. That or Dick didn't want to be his friend anymore, seeing that Jace was a villain and all. _

"_Jace!" A voice called out, causing Jace to flinch. He immediately recognized the voice and sped up slightly. _

_The person who called him quickly caught up to him. Jace hissed as nails dug into his forearm before he turned around, facing the red head. _

"_What do you want, Barbara?" Jace muttered, head hanging. _

_The young girl placed her hands on her hips, glaring the best she could at her friend, "What's wrong with you?" _

_Jace looked up, brow quirked "What do you mean?" _

_Barbara rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, "You've been ignoring Dick all week!" _

_Jace internally groaned. Leave it to Barbara to notice everything. _

"_So?" Barbara tapped her foot impatiently. Even though she was only nine, she was one of the most mature kids in the school. _

"_I'll talk to him," Jace grumbled, pushing past his friend. He knew she wouldn't drop it unless Jace agreed to at least "try" to fix things with Dick. He also knew she wouldn't follow him. Barbara was good with body language and could tell that Jace was uncomfortable and didn't want to talk about it. _

_The blazing sun hit Jace's face as soon as his foot was out the door of Gotham Elementary, the most prestigious school for youngsters. The Anderson's thought that it'd be best to send the Mallory boys to a prestigious school because they had high hopes it would make sure they went down the right path._

_Boy, if only they knew. _

"_Ready to go home squirt?" Jace startled slightly before glancing up at his brother, Andy. Andy was the middle child and only two years older than Jace making him eleven._

"_I'm not a squirt." Jace muttered, brushing Andy's arm off his shoulder. _

"_Arguably, you are." Jace rolled his eyes as he began to walk off. The walks home usually just consisted of Andy and Jace. Will had started junior high and was the quarterback for the football team, meaning that every day after school, he had practices. _

"_Hey, Jace!" A voice called. Jace turned his head to the left, where the voice came from. As soon as he laid his eyes on the sleek, black limo, his jaw dropped. _

_Beside him, Andy chuckled, "Careful, squirt. You don't want to let the flies in." Jace quickly snapped his jaw shut before slowly walking towards the limo, where Dick had his head hanging out. He was also grinning like a mania and waving spastically at Jace. _

"_What do you want, Dick?" Jace muttered, not making eye contact with the boy. _

_Unbeknownst to Jace, Dick's face fell slightly, "I uh… was wondering if you wanted to come over?" _

_Jace glanced up, clutching his books to his chest tighter, "I have homework." He quickly lied. _

"_Jace," Andy knocked his hip against his younger brother's, "You don't have homework." _

_The smile on Dick's face grew as Jace glared up at Andy, "So that means you'll come over then?" _

_Jace sighed, "I guess so." _

"_Great!" Dick chirped, sliding over in the seat, "Come on in!" _

_The limo door opened and Jace slid in, taking a spot next to Dick. With a wave to Andy, the sleek limo took off. _

_As soon as they arrived at the manor, Dick jumped out of the limo, Jace in tow, "Come on! I wanna show you around!" _

_After a tour around the manor, Jace's head was spinning. The place was huge! You could play the best game of hide n seek here ever! _

"_How do you not get lost all the time?!" Jace exclaimed, turning towards Dick as they walked towards the library. Jace glanced around excitedly as his voice echoed around the cavernous halls. _

_Dick chuckled, enjoying his friend's enthusiasm, "I just call for Alfred when I get lost." _

_Jace nodded with a smile, completely forgetting for the time being their separate sides. _

_When the duo came to a stop, they were standing in front of an old grandfather clock. Jace looked at it with confusion, not entirely sure what was so special about this._

"_What are we doing?" Jace glanced at Dick, confusion evident in his eyes._

_Dick stared back at Jace, blue orbs filled with mischief and excitement as his lips curled into a smile, "I have one more room I want to show you!" _

_Jace glanced back at the clock and then Dick. Pointing he asked, "It's in the clock?" _

_Dick giggled with excitement. This was it. Bruce and him were, hopefully, going to have a new partner. There was no way Dick was going to let Jace's brothers continue to corrupt him, "No! It's behind the clock."_

_Jace turned to his friend, still confused but wide eyed, "No way."_

"_Way," Dick nodded. He walked forward before reaching up and turning the hands on the clock. There was an audible click before the clock opened with a hiss. _

_Dick turned back towards Jace, whose jaw was hanging open. Dick broke out into a grin as he grabbed his friends arm, "Come on!" _

There was a loud groan as Strike's mind, once again, came back to reality. Strike glanced up to see his partner staring angrily down at Scorn, "Bats said to let him go."

Strike jumped up, allowing his brother to roll over onto his back, "What?! Why?"

Robin ran a hand through his hair, brow furrowed, "Because he lost Wrath and you know taking one in without the other is _not_ a good idea."

"Hah!" Scorn exclaimed from his spot on the ground. Strike flashed him a quick glare before turning back towards Robin.

"So we're just supposed to leave him here?"

"Pretty much." Strike groaned. So he would have to deal with his brothers tonight. Great, "Let's just get back to the Batcave."

"Fine."

_As the two boys descended down the stairs, Jace could hear the light screeching of bats and trickling water as a wave of cold washed over him. As the delved further down the stairs, Jace could faintly hear the clacking of keys as an eerie, blue glow shone around the cave._

"_Dick," Jace whispered as they exited the stairs, "What is this place?"_

_Dick gave Jace a small smile, spreading his arms out, "Welcome to the Batcave!" Jace froze as his blood ran cold. His first instinct was to run. This was _the_ Batcave. The home to Batman and Robin, enemies of Wrath and Scorn, who just so happened to be Jace's brothers._

_Jace's heart began to hammer as his eyes filled with tears. Dick, whom he thought was his true friend, had turned Jace in to the Dark Knight himself. This was _not_ going to be good. _

"_Jace," A calm, soothing voice spoke. Jace took a subconscious step back as the chair sitting in front of the computer spun around, revealing Batman. Jace gulped, nerves wracking his body, "I'm glad you could come." Jace stared at Batman, not believing the Dark Knight was smiling at him. _

"_I uh…" Jace stammered, trying to figure out something to say. _

"_It's okay," Batman soothed, pulling off his cowl, "You have nothing to fear."_

_The butterflies in Jace's stomach settled slightly. This was a good sign. Right? "Y-you're not going to turn me in?"_

_Bruce chuckled slightly, "No. In fact, I want the exact opposite." Jace stared at him confused. In a few short steps, Bruce stood, towering over Jace before he kneeled down, "I want to take you on as my protégé."_

_Jace's eyes widened. His mind began to race a mile a minute as he processed what Bruce just said. He wanted Jace to be his next protégé?! "But… but what about Rob- Dick?" Jace voiced, still unsure about everything. _

_Bruce smiled kindly at the young boy, sensing his nerves. He placed a comforting hand on Jace's shoulder, "You'll both be my protégés. You and Dick will work together, as partners." _

"_Partners," Jace murmured to himself, silently enjoying the word. The more Jace thought about it, the greater the idea appealed to him. He's always dreamed about fighting alongside Batman and now here it was, his chance to fulfill that dream. The corners of his lips curled up as Jace was about to accept the offer. He wouldn't have to be a villain! He didn't have to be Fury ever again. He could make up his own name, design his own costume. His brothers wouldn't be able to control him! Jace's face fell. _

_His brothers. _

_No. They would never allow him to become a hero. They'd protest, maybe even kill him if he turned on them. _

"_I can't," Jace whispered, hanging his head, "My brother's would never allow it." _

_Bruce smiled sadly, understanding Jace's worry. His brothers were the only family he had left, "It's not up to them, Jace." Bruce comforted, choosing his words carefully, "This is your life. You can do what you want with it." _

_Jace glanced up at Bruce, hope filled his green orbs, "R-really?" _

_Bruce nodded, but it was Dick who spoke up, "Really!" He chirped, "We can be partners and fight crime together!" Jace smiled a genuine smile. The idea sounded terrific. Dick had become his best friend and now he could fight alongside him! _

"_Alright," Jace nodded, smile growing as excitement filled his veins, "I'm in!" _

_Dick beamed at his friend, "Great! Come on!" Dick snagged Jace's arm, "I want to show you the rest of the Batcave!" _

_As the two boys raced off, Bruce stood up, smiling softly, "Alfred," He turned his head to the left, where the elderly butler had entered the room._

"_Do you think this is a wise idea, Master Bruce?" The butler announced his concerns. Sure, Alfred was happy Master Dick had a true friend, but the boy was related to bad blood. If they weren't careful, the young child could be ripped from them and still forced down the wrong path._

"_We'll see, Alfred," Bruce sighed, "But I can't just sit by and do nothing. This boy needs us, as Dick put it. Besides, this is the first time in a while I've seen Dick genuinely happy. It'll be good for him to have another kid his age running around. Not to mention they'll have each other to lean on."_

"_If you say so, Master Bruce," Alfred nodded, smiling softly. He did quite like Master Dick's new friend. In fact, he saw a lot of the young master in him, "Should I get the papers and set up a room for Master Jace?" _

_Bruce shook his head, "No. He has an adoptive family. I can't just take him away from that, but he's more than welcome here whenever he wants." _

"Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in!" Andy smiled, chuckling as Jace entered the front door. Jace couldn't help but grin. As much as he loathed Wrath and Scorn, Will and Andy were pretty good brothers to him.

"Whatever," Jace plopped down on the couch, next to Andy, "At least I didn't get my ass handed to me by birdbrain."

"You distracted me!"

"Excuses, excuses!" Jace chuckled. Andy scoffed at his brother, feigning hurt. Jace rolled his eyes, "Oh, don't be such a drama queen!"

"Rude," Andy pouted.

"Whatever."

It was moments like this when Jace felt like he was actually normal. Here he was, messing around with his brother just having a good time. There was no Scorn and Strike, just Andy and Jace.

Jace wished it could always be this way.

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**A/N: Review people! They mean a lot because I enjoy hearing your thoughts and things!  
**

**A tad bit of information on Strike:**

**Real name: Jace Mallory**

**Age: 13**

**Siblings: Andy and Will Mallory  
**

**Parents: Went to jail when he was 9.**

**Adopted parents: Samantha and Greg Anderson**

**Powers: None**

**Looks: Light brown hair, green eyes, slightly tanned skin with freckles**

**Uniform: Black tunic, like Robin's, but sleeveless. Above his right breast is a stylized 'S' for Strike. Dark gray utility belt, domino mask, and combat boots. Gloves like Robin except fingerless. He has a black hood that leads into a black cape with a dark gray inside.**

**Love Interest: ? **

**Notes: He may be a Bat protege, but he doesn't live with Bruce Wayne. He lives with his adopted parents.**

**One last thing, I plan to focus a lot more of my time on this story because I feel as though Falcon was pretty much just a practice round for me. I think I found a writing style that suits me and if you've read Falcon, I'll update the last chapter within the next few weeks. **

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**Anyways, please, for the love of god, no OC hate on this story. I know I can't stop you, you have a right to your opinion and to say it and blah blah blah. But it's a two way street. I also have the right to ignore said opinion because a) I will be honest, I don't really care. Cool, you hate OCs. That's you, not me. b) This is my story meaning that I have a right to write about whatever the fuck I want. c) Your opinion will NEVER stop me from writing my OC story. **

**Fine, you don't like OC stories? Then don't read them. Seriously? That's why there's an OC filter. I don't go reading stories I hate so don't go reading stories you hate and then bashing on them even though you have been warned. Seriously? That's like the number one sign you're an asshole. **

**Personally, I like OCs. Sure, Mary Sues are annoying but hey, just help them out. Don't scream and rant at them. People come to this site for constructive criticism. Not hate and bashing. Also, to the OC haters, you DO NOT speak for all of the YJ fandom so please, stop saying you do and that OCs are a plague. You sound dumb. Want to know how many OC stories there are at this point in time? About 300. That's all the OC stories with the filter at least. So, compared to the rest of the fandom, where there's approximately 13.8 K stories, only about 300 are about OCs. That's very little so quite saying "OCs are a plague and taking over FF" because we're not. **

**I don't mind criticism. Go ahead, criticize my OC and writing or whatnot, I welcome it. Tell me what you like about Strike or what I should improve, go ahead. I just don't want to hear that you don't like him simply because he just so happens to be an OC. People have gotten really rude and harsh on here lately and it's just awful because here on FF, authors come to post stories and receive CONSTRUCTIVE criticism about stories and OCs, not hate and just plain OC bashing. So please, if you're going to review, let it be constructive and uplifting. Not hateful and makes me feel like a crap author. And no, for the guest who review last time, writing an OC story does not make me a crap author.**

**Anyways, bottom line, I honestly don't care if you don't like OCs. I do so please, don't spew OC hate here because a) I'm not going to stop writing about my OCs because somebody hates ALL OCs and b) Fanfiction has no rule against OCs. Meaning that I can write about OCs to my hearts content and no one can say a damn thing.**

**I will admit though, it's fun to not write about OCs sometimes because it's a bit more of a challenge to write with just the canon characters. However, that doesn't mean I like writing them more than OC stories, which a guest seemed to believe I had said. Please, DO NOT put words into my mouth.**

**One final thing, to be completely honest, I believe all the OC hate is coming from a select few readers. I noticed on a few stories that have OC hate reviews that the reviews were all added at approximately the same time, all under a guest. The hate seems to come from guests. Either they just don't have an account, or they're account holders hiding behind guests so they don't get hate I will never know. /shrugs/ Whatever. Nothing I can do about it.**

**If you read this and you had come here to bash my OC, please, don't do it. It's not going to change anything. You're just wasting your time,but hey, I can't stop you. Just think about it?**


	2. Independence Day

**GOTHAM CITY**  
**July 4, 12:00 EDT**

The afternoon sun flitted through the open windows of the diner, basking the occupants in its warmth. At the far end of the café, huddled together in a corner booth, sat three occupants. If they were any normal trio of people, they wouldn't receive much attention. However, being the ward of Bruce Wayne and the Commissioner's daughter, they proved to be exceptions.

Sighing, Barbara leaned back, eyes flickering over her company, "Anything exciting planned for this summer?"

Dick and Jace shared a look, mental images of their nightly activities flashing through their minds before Jace's eyes settled on the red head, "Nah. Y'know, just the usual."

Barbara nodded, pursing her lips. A part of her didn't believe the two boys. There was something they weren't telling her and she was definitely going to find out what it was. That was her goal for the summer, "Sounds like fun. My dad planned a trip for us to go up North. You know, up to our cabin. Unfortunately, I don't think it's going to work out." Barbara looked down at her shake, stirring the straw sadly.

Dick gave her a soft smile, "I'm sure it'll work out, Babs."

Barbara glanced up, "You know how much he works."

"Yea," Jace spoke up, "But he has Batman and the Wonder Boys to look after Gotham during your guys' vacation."

"Boy Wonders," Barbara corrected, flushing slightly. She had met the two boys once or twice before. As the Commissioner's daughter, she's been prone to being kidnapped and they've saved her. A grin broke out of Dick's face. He knew of Barbara's "crush" on the Boy Wonders and planned to use that info to its fullest extent.

"So," He drawled out, sending a quick wink Jace's way, which was unnoticed by Barbara, "Which one's the cutest?"

Barbara glanced over at Dick, eyes narrowing slightly. She didn't like where this was going, "What makes you think I think they're cute?"

Jace crossed his arms, smiling. He knew where Dick was going with this, "Come on Babs, we know you think at least one of them is cute."

"Just because they wear a mask, have nice hair, and have rescued me does not mean I think they're cute." Barbara huffed, crossing her arms. In all honesty, they were cute. Especially Robin, mainly due to the fact Robin reminded her of Dick. Barbara felt heat rise to her face so she quickly looked down, hoping her friends hadn't seen.

Dick and Jace shared a glance, smirks spreading across their faces, "So you do think they're cute!"

Barbara's eyes widened as she flushed, "I- I never said that!"

"No," Dick agreed, fry pointed at the red head, "But you were thinking it."

"That blush said everything."

Barbara huffed, arms crossed. Her gaze shifted to her shake as she scowled, "What a great idea Barbara," She muttered to herself, "Why did I ever think having two guys for best friends was such a brilliant idea?"

"Because," Dick chirped, "We're much more exciting than girls."

"Plus we're adorable!"

Barbara giggled, flinging fries at the two boys, "I hate you both!"

Jace laughed, ducking as a fry hit the seat cushion behind his head

The trio broke out into laughter, which echoed around the nearly vacant café. A few occupants spared them a glance, but they quickly turned away, choosing to instead focus on the food in front of them.

For the first time that day, the nerves Jace was feeling had disappeared. Instead of the Hall of Justice and the day ahead of him filling his thoughts, he was enjoying the here and now. At least, that was, until Batman called.

Jace's laughter ceased when he heard a beeping sound. Reaching into his pocket, Jace pulled out his phone. From across the table, Dick did the same.

Barbara huffed as Jace's eyes roamed over the alert, "You two and your phones."

Jace sighed, standing up, "Sorry Babs. I gotta run." Dick did the same.

"You too?" Barbara glanced up at Dick, sadness evident in her eyes.

He shrugged, dropping a twenty on the table, "I'll call you later?"

"Fine."

The boys quickly pressed kisses to Barbara's cheeks, making the red head flush, much to her annoyance, before they raced out of the diner, calling goodbyes over their shoulders.

"Y'know," Jace glanced over at his partner as they entered an alley, "I hate ditching her like that."

Dick sighed, pulling on his mask as Jace did the same, "Me too, Jace."

In a matter of minutes, the two boys had stripped out of civvies and into their corresponding uniforms. Pulling out his grapple gun, Robin turned towards Strike, who was typing away on his wrist computer.

"Seems Mister Freeze is back at it again," Strike commented with a frown. That guy irked him. He was all about freeze puns and it got quite annoying after awhile.

"Great," Robin groaned, "And today is the day!"

"I know right?" Strike glanced up at his partner before shrugging, "I guess the sooner we take him down, the sooner we can get going?"

Robin reluctantly nodded, grumbling, "Let's go." The two boys launched their grapple guns towards the top of the building before they swung away.

When they finally reached the park, the boys saw Mister Freeze doing what he does best: freezing things. The park was in complete chaos as the days Fourth of July celebrations ceased and civilians ran every which way to avoid being frozen, which, if Strike was being completely honest, wasn't too terrible.

As Freeze's freeze ray was powering up, Robin launched a birdarang. The weapon flew through the air and hit its target, causing Freeze's shot to go astray.

"Batman," Freeze said, turning in the boys direction, "I was wondering when-" He trailed off in confusion as Robin's cackle echoed eerily around the park.

Robin and Strike dropped down, landing on Freeze's glass dome before vaulting off. Strike rolled onto the grass before quickly popping back up. Two birdarangs were flung from his grip before they hit Freeze's helmet, cracking it.

Mister Freeze looked up from the ground, eyes narrowing slightly, "Oh, the Boy Wonders," He said, not amused as he pushed himself off the ground, "The Bat sent you two to send me off to prison? Frankly, I'm underwhelmed."

Strike scoffed, a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips, "What's the matter Freeze? Not happy to see us?"

"Normally, we'd be happy to see you, but we're kind of in a hurry here!" Robin snapped, hand propped on his hip.

"Kids, always in such a rush," Freeze commented with an eye roll as he fired up his freeze ray. Strike rolled his eyes. Freeze guns were so cliché.

"Not talking to you," Robin sang-song, exasperated.

Freeze looked slightly confused before he turned around as the shadow of a Bat blocked the sun. With a swift punch to the face, Freeze's helmet shattered and the villain fell to the ground, unconscious.

As Batman tied up the unconscious villain, Robin and Strike approached him, "Is it time to go yet?" Strike asked, bouncing from one foot to the other as excitement pumped through his veins. Never had he been so excited in his life.

Batman stood up and faced his protégés, "Patience, Strike."

"But Bat-"

"Good work out there kids," Commissioner Jim Gordon said as he approached the trio.

"Thanks," Robin nodded as they faced the man.

"He's all yours, Commissioner," Batman passed Freeze over to him and then because he's Batman, the two engaged in a conversation about why Freeze attacked.

Groaning, Strike leaned against one of the many frozen icicles still littering the park. Of all days, Batman chose today to chat up the commissioner? Strike huffed. Didn't the Bat know they were in kind of a hurry?

Strike's thoughts were interrupted as he heard a cracking noise. He looked around, bewildered for a moment, before he realized the cracking was coming from the icicle he was leaning on. Strike stood up, turning to peer curiously at the icicle as a crack began to spread through it. The crack grew bigger and bigger before finally, the icicle shattered.

There was a strangled cry of surprise as a young girl was released from her icy prison. Reacting quickly, Strike reached out and caught the girl before she could land roughly on the ground. As the duo stared at each other, the girls wide-eyed expression changed into one of excitement before she latched onto the hero, completely ignoring the fact she was just frozen.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! You're Strike!" She cried in the hero's ear, causing him to flinch slightly.

"Y-yea," Strike stuttered, pushing the girl back, "That I am."

Pushing the girl back proved to be futile because she just jumped forward, re-latching herself onto the young hero, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Glancing over his shoulder, Strike took note of the faces of his comrades. Batman looked as stoic as ever, the Commissioner had a slight smile on his face while the original Boy Wonder was having a hoot. Strike's eyes narrowed. He was so going to kill Robin. Before Strike had a chance to do anything, the Commissioner stepped forward.

The Commissioner chuckled before placing a hand on the young girl's shoulder, "Alright sweetheart, the heroes have places to be and other people to save." He disentangled the girl from around Strike and guided her to a police car to be taken home. Before the girl got into the car, she turned around and sent Strike a kiss accompanied by a wink.

Strike focused his attention on the car as it sped away, hoping to remove the blush from his face. When he thought it was gone, Strike faced his partners.

"Well, that was interesting."

Robin cackled, "You bet it was! You should've seen your face!"

Before Strike could pounce on the Boy Blunder, Batman stepped between them, "Alright, let's get going."

**WASHINGTON, D.C.**  
**July 4, 14:00 EDT**

Strike gaped at The Hall of Justice, which stood tall in front of the group of heroes. It was a bit intimidating Strike had to admit, but amazing none the less. Strike could barely contain his excitement. This was where the League was formed, where he'll be joining them.

Batman placed his hand on his protégé's shoulders, breaking Strike out of his thoughts, "Today's the Day." He smiled, yes smiled, down at Robin and Strike as the duo beamed up at him.

"Welcome to the Hall of Justice," Green Arrow spoke up.

"Headquarters of the Justice League," Aquaman added.

The was a strong breeze as the speedsters joined the party.

"Aw man!" Kid Flash groaned, "I knew we'd be the last one's here!"

Robin and Strike shared a look, devious smirks spread across their face, "You can travel at the speed of light," Strike began.

"But you can never be on time," Robin ended. Kid Flash glared at the Gothamites as they began to cackle.

"Oh ha ha," Kid deadpanned, "You two think you're so funny."

"Oh come on, KF," Strike poked the speedster in the side, "We're just joshin ya!"

He smacked Strike's hand away as a smile crept up onto his face, "You both suck." Robin and Strike cackled once again.

A few minutes later, the heroes began their trek towards the Hall of Justice. As they passed by the spectators, they began to chatter excitedly and snap pictures.

"Is that Batman?"

"I see Flash and Flash, Jr!"

"His name's Speedy, duh."

"No! Speedy's Green Arrow's sidekick."

"Well that makes no sense."

"Aaah! It's the Boy Wonders!"

"They're so hot!" Some feminine voices shrieked.

"How come you two get all the babes?" Kid Flash grumbled from beside Strike.

Strike glanced up at him, flashing him a cocky smile, "Did you not hear the fangirls?"

"It's because we're hot." Robin cackled. As the two fist bumped, Kid Flash shook his head.

"And egotistical," He grumbled.

"Ready to see the inner sanctum?" Green Arrow asked Speedy.

"Born that way," Speedy smirked.

"I'm glad we're all here," Aqualad commented.

"Have all five sidekicks ever been in the same place at the same time?" Kid Flash asked eagerly.

"Don't call us sidekicks. Not after today." Speedy snapped. Strike frowned. Speedy could've been a bit nicer about Kid Flash's comment.

"Sorry," Kid Flash muttered sheepishly, "First time at the Hall. I'm a little overwhelmed."

Robin let out a sigh, "You're overwhelmed, Freeze was underwhelmed, why isn't anyone just whelmed?" Robin questioned as he walked ahead.

Kid Flash looked at Strike, causing the younger boy to shrug, "Don't ask me. Kid's unpredictable."

The grand doors to the Hall opened and Strike, as well as the rest of the protégés, gaped. There, standing tall, were seven huge statues of the founding League members. Talk about whelming. Strike could only stare up at them in awe. The League sure knew how to do first impressions.

Strike elbowed Robin as they walked forward in awe, "That's probably why." Robin nodded his head in response as they approached a set of heavy metal doors that read "Authorized Personnel Only." The large doors slid open to reveal Martian Manhunter and Red Tornado.

"Robin, Strike, Speedy, Aqualad, Kid Flash," He spoke, "Welcome." Kid Flash held out his hands and Robin and Strike each high fived him before following Martian Manhunter. He proceeded to give the young protégés a tour of the Hall, which ended in the library.

"Make yourselves at home," Flash said with a huge smile as he gestured to the large room. Robin, Kid Flash and Strike quickly plopped into the three chairs while Speedy and Aqualad stood in the center of them.

As the protégés made themselves comfortable, the Leaguers huddled up in the front of the room. Strike glanced at them in curiosity. What was going to happen after this? The tour was finished, what was to come next? Strike studied the carpets pattern as his mind filled with thoughts of finally being part of the League. He could only imagine what it'd be like to finally be treated like an equal. Strike loathed being called a sidekick. He was so much more than that! What would his brothers think of him being a hero?

"We won't be long," Batman announced. Strike's eyes snapped up to look at his mentor as his mind was brought back to reality.

"Recognized: Batman: Zero-Two, Aquaman: Zero-Six, Flash: Zero-Four, Green Arrow: Zero-Eight, Martian Manhunter: Zero-Seven, Red Tornado, One-Six." With the scan complete, the doors slid open.

"That's it?" Speedy exclaimed. Strike watched as Speedy angrily approached the heroes. He could just tell this wasn't going to end well, "You promised us a real tour. Not a glorified backstage pass!"

"It's a first step," Aquaman turned to face the teen, attempting to reason with him, "You've been granted access few others get."

"Oh really?!" Speedy gestured up towards the ceiling and more flashes entered Strike's vision as he took in the tourists who were eagerly snapping photos of the heroes below, "Who cares what side of the glass we're on?"

Green Arrow stepped forward. It was his turn to try and calm his protégé down, "Roy, you just need to be patient."

"What I need is respect," Speedy growled. Strike's eyes widened behind his mask. Roy never talked to Green Arrow that way! He's always looked up to Ollie like a father. Speedy turned towards the rest of the protégés, "They're treating us like kids! Worse, like sidekicks." Strike flinched at the venom in his voice when he said sidekicks. Although Strike agreed, being considered a sidekick was terrible, he knew Batman didn't think of him and Robin as his sidekicks. At least, Strike hoped not. One look at his partner and Strike knew Robin was thinking the same thing.

"We deserve better than this!" Speedy yelled, carrying on the argument.

The four of us shared a look before we glanced back at Speedy. Strike crossed his arms, slouching in his seat. He was aiming to avoid the glare Speedy was giving the protégés.

"You're kidding right?" He deadpanned, glaring at them, "You're playing their game?! Why!? Today was supposed to be the day. Step one to becoming full-fledged members of the League."

"Well sure," Kid Flash spoke up, looking around wearily, "But I thought step one was a tour of the HQ?"

"Except the Hall isn't the League's real HQ!" Strike's jaw dropped, "I bet they never told you it was just a false front for tourists and a pit stop for catching zeta-beam teleporter tubes to the real thing," He gestured up towards the ceiling, "An orbiting satellite called the Watchtower!"

"You are not helping your cause here, son," Aquaman stepped forward, "Stand down."

"Or what? You'll send me to my room? And I'm not your son," Speedy replied, "I'm not even his." His last sentence was directed at Green Arrow, "I thought I was his partner, but not anymore." Strike's eyes widened, once again, as Speedy reached up and tore his hat off his head, slamming it to the ground at Green Arrow's feet, "I quit."

Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Strike jumped up, watched on in horror as Speedy stormed past them. Before he walked out the doors, he turned towards the four, voice dripping with venom, "Guess they were right about you four. You're not ready."

A heavy silence filled the room as the heavy metal door slammed shut behind Speedy. Strike couldn't believe this! How could he just up and leave like that? They've been working for years to get this far and now, being so close, Speedy was leaving them?

A beeping sound began to fill the room, interrupting Strike's thoughts and breaking the tension. The beeping ended as Superman appeared on a large screen, "Superman to Justice League. There's been an explosion at Project Cadmus. It's on fire."

The six Leaguers swarmed the screen as their protégés watched from behind, "I've had my suspicions about Cadmus," Batman said, "This may present the perfect opportunity to-" Another beeping sound rang out as a smaller screen appeared. This one contained the face of the League's resident magician, Zatara.

"Zatara to Justice League," The magician started, voice slightly panicked, "The sorcerer Wotan is using the Amulet of Aten to blot out the sun. Requesting full League response."

"Superman?" Batman inquired, looking up at the Kryptonian hero.

"It's a small fire," Superman said, "The local authorities have it under control."

"Then Cadmus can wait," Batman announced. He reached forward and pressed a button on the keyboard, "All Leaguer's rendezvous to Zatara's coordinates. Batman out."

The screens went black as the four, excited teens approached their mentors. Batman turned to face them, quickly putting out any hope they had of fighting alongside him and the Leaguers, "Stay put."

Robin and Strike shared a glance before turning back towards their mentor, "What? Why?"

"This is a League mission." Aquaman answered.

"You're not trained-" Flash began but was quickly cut off by Kid Flash.

"Since when?!"

"I meant you're not trained to work as part of this team," Flash finished.

"There will be other missions, when you're ready," Aquaman added.

"But for now," Batman said, eyes narrowing slightly, "Stay put." The Leaguer's left the room and with a loud slam, the heavy double doors closed.

"When we're ready?!" Kid Flash exclaimed, pissed, "How are we ever supposed to be ready if they treat us like… like…"

"Sidekicks," Strike grumbled, finishing his sentence.

"Exactly!" He cried.

Aqualad looked hurt as he glanced at the ground, "My mentor, my kind, I thought he trusted me?"

"Trust?" Kid Flash retorted, "They don't trust us with the basics! They have a secret HQ in space!"

A silence fell upon the four young heroes as their minds each wandered. Strike couldn't believe this! After all he's been through with Batman, he just treats him and Robin like they were nothing more than sidekicks? Come on! Strike always thought Batman looked at his protégés as partners… not sidekicks. Strike groaned. This day took a turn for the worse.

"What else aren't they telling us?" Aqualad looked up, breaking the silence.

Robin sighed, "I have a better question," Strike glanced over at him, "Why didn't we leave with Speedy?"

Strike crossed his arms as, once again, a heavy silence fell upon them. Robin had a point. Speedy had the right idea. Leave. The League doesn't see us as equals.

"What is Project Cadmus?" Aqualad inquired, glancing at the two Gothamites.

"Don't know," Robin looked at his partner with a smirk.

"But we can find out," Strike smirked back.

"Y'know, it's really freaky when you two finish each other's sentences." Kid Flash commented as they walked towards the computer.

"It's also really freaky to watch you stuff your face," Strike grumbled as he began to type away.

"But you don't see us complaining," Robin chuckled, typing away besides him.

"Access Denied."

"Wanna bet?" Robin challenged as they continued to type away.

The sounds of keys clacking filled the room as the hackers hacked away. A few seconds later, files and codes began to swarm around the screen.

"Whoa," Kid Flash stared at the screens in awe, "How are you two doing that?"

"Same system as the Batcave," Robin smirked. A red box popped up but it quickly turned green, signifying we have access.

"Access Granted." The computer announced the hackers victory.

Strike's eyes skimmed the file as Robin spoke aloud to the guys, "Alright, Project Cadmus… genetics lab here in D.C."

Strike frowned, "But that's all there is."

Robin faced Strike before turning his gaze towards Aqualad and Kid Flash, "But if Batman's suspicious, maybe we should investigate?"

"Solve their case before they do," Aqualad mused, smiling softly, "It would be poetic justice."

"Hey," Robin chuckled, "They are all about justice!"

"It's even in their name!" Strike chimed in, smiling at the Atlantean.

Aqualad sighed, "But they said stay put."

"For the blotting out the sun mission!" Robin exclaimed.

"Never once did they tell us we couldn't go to Cadmus."

"Wait," Kid Flash raced in front of the Gothamites, who's minds were already made up, "Are-are you two going to Cadmus? Because if you guys are, I'm going!"

"Just like that we're a Team on a mission?" Aqualad questioned.

"We didn't come for a play date."

Aqualad's calm smile shifted into a smirk. Strike's grin grew as he realized they got the calm, cool and collected Atlantean on board.

**CADMUS- WASHINGTON, D.C.**  
**July 4, 14:57 EDT**

As the sound of sirens and the scent of smoke filled the young hero's ears, they knew they were on the right path. They rounded a corner and picked up the pace as the burning Cadmus building came into view.

Being the speedster he was, Kid Flash raced off ahead of his friends, leaving them in the dust. As they neared the building, Strike watched as Kid Flash raced up a wall to catch two falling scientists. He tossed them onto the roof before losing momentum and sliding down the wall. Kid Flash's arms flailed wildly, trying to latch onto anything, before he managed to catch a windowsill.

"It's what's-his-name!" A fireman exclaimed, pointing excitedly at the speedster, "Flash boy!" Strike stifled a laugh as the three remaining heroes slowed to a stop slowed to a stop.

"So smooth," Robin commented. Robin and Strike nodded at each other before the duo took off, leaving a flabbergasted Aqualad behind.

Robin cackled at Strike's side as they raced up the fire truck. Pulling out his grapple gun, Strike launched it at the windowsill. It latched on before Strike swung himself up onto the ledge.

While Robin went inside, Strike walked over towards where Kid Flash was hanging.

"So how's it hanging, Flash Boy?" Strike smirked down at the disgruntled speedster.

Kid Flash rolled his eyes before he glared up at the young teen, "No time for jokes, just help me up."

Strike laughed as he extended his arm to the speedster. Kid Flash accepted his hand and Strike pulled him up.

"Thanks," Kid Flash grumbled as the duo jumped into the room. Strike nodded in return before they went their separate ways. Kid Flash to search though some filing cabinets while Strike meandered over to Robin.

"Find anything of interest?"

"Not yet," Robin replied, still typing away, "I'm just downloading files."

Strike nodded his head before walking off. Glancing around, he walked up to a bulletin board. Frowning, Strike took note there was nothing of interest. All it had tacked to it were just a few reminders about faculty meetings and notes.

There was a soft thud as someone joined the trio and Strike turned around to see Aqualad, sporting an unamused look.

"Appreciate the help," Aqualad muttered sarcastically.

Strike flashed him a grin, "Looks like you handled it."

"Besides, we're here for poetic justice. Remember?" Robin asked, turning his head slightly to look at the Atlantean.

Aqualad rolled his eyes, muttering something to himself as he exited the room. Strike shared a look with Kid Flash, to which the latter shrugged. Kid Flash turned on his heel to check on the Atlantean while Strike walked over to Robin.

"Almost done?"

Robin nodded, "Files are at ninety-eight percent. Just another minute or two."

Strike was about to respond when an elevator dinged. Sharing a look, Robin unplugged his wrist computer and the duo raced out of the room.

"There was something in the …" They heard Aqualad murmur before they rounded the corner.

"Elevator's should be locked down." Kid Flash commented, looking curiously at the elevator. Robin raced forward and Strike followed suit.

"This is wrong," Robin popped up his holo-computer and Strike glanced over his shoulder. His brows furrowed as he read the file. This was a high capacity elevator. So why was it in a two story building?

"This is a high-speed express elevator. It doesn't belong in a two story building." Robin voiced his partners thoughts.

"Neither does what I saw," Aqualad stepped forward. With a grunt, he pried open the elevator doors.

Crouching under his arm, Strike stared at the elevator shaft. It looked like a never ending pit of darkness. Robin joined him and Strike glanced at him, "Guess that's why they need an express elevator?"

Robin pursed his lips, "Guess so."

Standing up, Strike pulled out his grapple gun while Robin did the same. Launching it up, the grapple latched onto the ceiling. Strike made sure the hold was secure before he jumped into the shaft, quickly disappearing into the darkness.

The air whipped around Strike's face as his cape fluttered behind him. As the floors flew by, Strike attempted to keep track of the floor they were passing, but it was harder than it looked. All Strike managed to notice was that they were in the sublevel twenties. Well, at least until he came to an abrupt stop at sublevel twenty six. Looking to his left, Strike noticed Robin in the same predicament. They were at the end of their ropes.

"At the end of your rope?" Strike called out to him, chuckling.

"What was your first clue?" Robin answered, smiling. He swung slightly before he leapt off, landing smoothly on the ledge. Strike followed suit as Robin slid down the wall, already in the process of hacking.

Strike heard the other two closing in on them and stepped aside. Aqualad jumped over to the ledge and Strike reached out, helping Kid Flash over.

"Bypassing security," Robin announced and Aqualad braced himself, "There! Go!" Aqualad pried the door open and they all stepped into the hallway.

"Welcome to Project Cadmus," Robin commented.

Strike crossed my arms and glanced around the spacious hallway. Sure, it was bare, but it being here is reason enough to be suspicious. After all, it was twenty-six levels down.

"I think Batman had reason enough to be suspicious." Strike commented.

"No kidding," Kid Flash agreed before racing off in a blur.

"Kid, wait!" Aqualad called out to the retreating form of Kid Flash, but it was too late. The speedster was long gone.

The trio quickly followed after Kid Flash. They skidded to a halt as they watched as he almost got trampled by these weird, mammoth creature things. Strike gaped as he stood next to Aqualad, who was also gaping.

The creatures stampeded on by the heroes, not bothering to give them notice except for a few growls. A smaller creature, sitting on the shoulder of the mammoths, turned towards the heroes. Its horns glowed an eerie red before it faced forward once more.

"No, nothing odd going on here," Aqualad muttered sarcastically.

"You know things aren't going right when Aqualad gets sarcastic," Strike mumbled as he watched the last of the creatures trudge away.

They wandered off down hallway after hallway until they came across a large, metal door that looked pretty important. To add to its importance, it was also locked.

Stepping forward, Strike hooked his wrist computer up to the mainframe and began to hack. A minute or so later, the security had been bypassed and the door opened with a hiss.

"Okay, I'm officially whelmed," Robin said as he stared wide eyed at the contents of the room.

Walking in, Strike couldn't help but be whelmed as well. The room contained stack upon stack of strange creatures that were generating electricity, almost like they were powering all of Cadmus.

"This is how they hide this massive underground facility from the world!" Kid Flash said, glancing around at the creatures, "The real Cadmus isn't on the grid! It generates its own power. These things that must be what they're bred for!"

"Even the name is a clue," Aqualad spoke softly, "The Cadmus of myth created a new race by sewing dragon's teeth into the Earth."

Robin faced Aqualad, "And this Cadmus creates new life too."

"Why don't we find out why," Strike muttered as he walked towards the computer. He plugged into the computer and pulled up some stats, "They call them Genomorphs." Robin walked up to his partner and Strike swiped the information over to him.

"Holy shit!" Robin exclaimed as he flipped through the files, "Look at the stats on these things! Super strength, telepathy, razor claws."

Strike's eyes widened, "They're living weapons."

"They're engineering an army," Kid Flash muttered darkly, "But for who?"

"That's a good question," Strike muttered as he went back to flipping through the files, "Wait," He scrunched his nose, "There's something else. Project Kr."

"I found that too," Robin said, "But the file's triple encrypted. I-I can't-"

"Don't move!" A commanding voice called out. Strike looked towards his right to see… Guardian surrounded by genomorphs? What the heck was he doing here? "Wait," The older hero looked at them in confusion, "Robin? Strike? Aqualad? Kid Flash?"

"At least he got your name right," Robin teased as he continued to download files.

"I know you," Aqualad commented, "Guardian, a hero."

"I do my best."

"Then what're you doing here?!" Kid Flash asked him.

"I'm chief of security," Well this is unexpected, "And you're trespassing, but we can call the Justice League and figure this out." Pass. The League, more specifically Batman, would most definitely murder the young heroes.

"You think the League is going to approve of you breeding weapons!?" Kid Flash snapped, causing something to spark in Guardian.

"Weapons? What're you- What've I?" Strike braced himself as he watched Guardian hold his head, obviously in pain. Something fishy was going on here and it wasn't Aqualad. His eyes snapped back up towards the four, devoid of any emotion, "Take them down, hard. No mercy!"

The genomorph's obeyed Guardian's command and attacked. Robin and Strike quickly reacted, each of them throwing down a smoke pellet. Amidst the smoke and confusion, Strike kicked a genomorph before pulling out his grapple gun. He shot it upwards where it latched onto a beam before he swung away, hoping the other guys were behind him.

Strike landed on a ground in a roll before jumping up and racing towards the elevator. When he arrived, Robin was already there.

"How did you…?" Strike furrowed his brow. He could've sworn Robin was behind him.

Robin smirked over at Strike as he hacked, "A true magician never reveals his secrets."

Strike rolled his eyes, "You're no-"

"Way to be team players, Rob, Strike." Kid Flash snapped as he skidded to a halt besides the Gothamites.

Strike smiled over at him, "Thought you were behind us."

"Well excuse me for not having 'Bat telepathy' like you two seem to have," Kid Flash muttered as the trio ran into the elevator.

Strike rolled his eyes, "There's no such thing as 'Bat telepathy.'"

As soon as Aqualad rolled into the elevator, Strike pressed the button to go down. The doors closed with a hiss just before the genomorph's crashed into the other side.

"We're headed down?" Aqualad commented once he noticed the levels weren't rising.

"Dudes," Kid Flash snapped, "Out is up!" For added emphasize, he pointed directly up.

"Yea but," Strike crossed his arms, glaring at the angered red head, "Project Kr is down on sublevel 52."

"This is getting out of control," Aqualad sighed, exasperated, "Perhaps… perhaps we should contact the League?" The four stood in silence for a while until the elevator dinged, signaling they had arrived.

The doors opened and they all struck fighting stances, expecting the worst, but the coast was clear. Robin jumped out and Strike followed suit. The two Gothamites raced ahead and ducked down behind some barrels.

"Which way?" Aqualad asked as him and Kid Flash joined the bats.

"Take your pic," Strike gestured to the two hallways.

"Yea, bizarre looking hallway one or bizarre looking hallway two?" Robin added, pointing at each hallway.

"Halt!" A tall, humanoid genomorph stepped out from the shadows, blocking bizarre looking hallway one. He held out his hand as his horns glowed red. He telepathically launched some barrels at the heroes. The barrels soared over them before crashing into a wall behind the four and exploding.

Robin launched a birdarang but it was telepathically stopped. The genomorph launched two more barrels at them which sent them running down bizarre looking hallway two.

Kid Flash easily ran ahead of the others and when they rounded the corner, he had placed a barrel in the large door, preventing it from closing. Strike jumped through the door after Robin and when Aqualad dove through, he kicked the barrel out of the way, causing the door to slam shut.

"I disabled the door," Robin said from his place at a computer, "We're safe."

"We're trapped." Aqualad deadpanned.

"Uh guys," Kid Flash called out to his friends, "You'll want to see this." Strike walked towards Kid Flash as he pressed a button on a console.

The lights turned on, illuminating the source of Kid Flash's shock. Strike gaped, taking in what stood before him.

"Whoa," Robin gasped beside Strike, just as shocked as his partner was.

Standing in front of the four, in some type of pod, was what looked like Superman. The only difference being that this Superman was younger.

"Big K, little r," Kid Flash said, walking towards the pod, "The atomic symbol for Krypton."

Strike approached the pod as well, "Maybe a clone?" He suggested, glancing over at the speedster.

He shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine."

Strike's gaze returned to the pod as Aqualad ordered Robin to hack. Strike narrowed his eyes as he took in the three small genomorphs sitting above the clone. They could only mean trouble.

"Weapon designation Superboy," Robin began to read off information as Kid Flash and Strike approached, "A clone force grown in… sixteen weeks!? From DNA acquired from Superman!"

"Stolen from Superman," Aqualad corrected.

"No way the big guy knows about this," Kid Flash added.

"His solar suit allows him to absorb yellow sun radiation twenty-four seven."

Strike glanced down at the screen as Aqualad pointed out the creature's sitting in Superboy's pod, "These creatures?"

"They're genomorph gnomes," Strike read off, "Telepathic. Force feeding him an education."

"And we can guess what else." Kid Flash muttered.

"They're pretty much making a slave out of Superman's son," Strike crossed his arms, shaking my head, "That is just wrong."

"Now we contact the League."

Robin and Strike tried to use thier wrist computers, Aqualad pressed the Atlantean symbol on his belt, and Kid Flash pressed the comm. in his ear. They all got the same results. Nothing but static.

Strike groaned, "Anybody got a signal?"

There was a chorus of no's as they all came to the same conclusion: They weren't contacting the League anytime soon.

"We're in too deep," Kid Flash commented, "Literally."

Strike looked at Superboy and then back at his comrades, "We can't leave him like this."

"Set him free," Aqualad agreed, "Do it." He looked down at Robin.

Robin typed away on his holo-computer and the next thing Strike saw, the pod was opening.

Strike's eyes narrowed as Superboy awoke. The clone clenched his fists and a loud cracking sound rang out as the unused bones moved, most likely, for the first time.

Superboy's eyes flew open and before the heroes had time to react, he flew towards Aqualad. The Atlantean was quickly tackled to the ground.

The three others raced over to where Superboy was punching the crap out of Aqualad. Thank god he was durable. Strike's arms wrapped around his neck as Kid Flash and Robin each latched onto an arm.

"Whoa, hang on Supey!" Kid Flash exclaimed.

"We're on your side!" Robin managed to grunt out.

Superboy's strength far outmatched their own as he managed to remove his arm from Kid Flash's grip. Once his arm was released, he punched Kid Flash, sending him flying through a glass tube.

"I don't want to do this," Robin stated, shoving a smoke pellet in Superboy's face. The distraction gave Aqualad enough of a chance to regain his composure and kick Superboy across the room.

Superboy stood back up as Robin pulled out his tazer. The electrical wires flew at Superboy and latched onto his chest, but it was no use. As soon as the electricity began to flow, Superboy flinched slightly before grabbing the wires and tugging Robin towards him and slammed him to the ground. The clone wasted no time in stepping down on Strike's partner's chest, knocking him out.

Strike growled as he charged at Superboy. The clone swung at him and Strike dodged before flipping over the clone. His hands pressed two small bombs to Superboy's shoulders before he flipped the rest of the way over, just to have Superboy catch his foot. He threw Strike against a wall and the young teen groaned as his skull hit the wall, hard.

As Superboy stalked towards the Gothamite, Strike braced himself for his hit, but it never came. The bombs went off, engulfing Superboy in smoke and once the smoke had cleared, Aqualad came flying at Superboy. Using a water hammer, Aqualad knocked Superboy into the pod he once lived in.

"We are trying to help you!" Aqualad shouted, trying to reason with the clone. Superboy didn't listen. He just kept attacking. God, couldn't this guy take a hint? They were trying to help him!

Strike stood up slowly, but his vision was fading in and out. Superboy made a move to charge at Aqualad, but he instead charged at Strike because Strike was the weakest at the moment.

Strike grunted as his back made contact with a wall and Superboy's hand curled around his neck, cutting off his beloved oxygen supply. Strike's vision became blurrier and blurrier as the lack of oxygen began to take effect.

Before Strike blacked out completely, Superboy was pulled off of him and sent flying across the room. Black began to overtake the young teen's vision as Aqualad knelt above him, making sure he was okay. The last thing Strike saw as he slipped into unconsciousness was Aqualad being chucked up and into the ceiling.

Today took a very unexpected turn for the worst.


	3. Fireworks

**A/N: Thank you all for the good feedback and I present you chapter two! (Now in a different view!) **

**Young Justice is not mine.**

* * *

**Washington, D.C.  
July 5, 00:01 EDT**

"_Time runs short… You must awaken… You must awaken now!" _

The commanding voice ricocheted around the empty mind of Strike, causing his eyes to fly open. A pounding erupted in the back of his head before he quickly clenched his eyes shut once more. After the pounding had died down, Strike cautiously opened his eyes.

Taking in his surroundings, the first thing Strike noticed was his light reflection in the glass in front of him. Wait, glass? Moving his head as much as he could, Strike looked up and down, taking in the fact that he was podded, much like the clone once was.

Feeling slightly panicked and claustrophobic, Strike's breathing picked up, but before he could go into all out hysterics, his training kicked in. Taking deep breaths, his breathing went back to normal and the panicked feeling he once felt diminished. He was a bat, there was no room for panicking. Instead, he searched the pod for a way out to help save the other protégés.

Speaking of the other protégés, Strike strained his head to the left, much to the protest of his muscles, to see Robin. Satisfied with finding his partner, Strike returned to the task at hand: finding a way out. Once he was out, him and Robin would find the other protégés, assuming they weren't in the same room as them.

Wiggling his wrists, the brunette tested the slack in the cuffs. With a frown, he realized there wasn't much. However, it was enough for him to work on picking the lock. Smirking to himself, a lock pick appeared at his finger tip before he began to work away at the lock.

"Wh-what do you want?" A panicked voice cried out. Strike ceased lock picking for a moment to crane his head to the right, where the voice came from. There was Kid Flash, in the same situation as Strike was, slightly panicking, "Quit staring! You're creeping me out!"

"Uh, KF," Robin called out, "How about we not tick off the guy who can fry us with a look?"

"I'm with Robin here," Strike added dully, still fidgeting with the lock, "I'd appreciate not being barbequed alive."

"We only sought to help you," Aqualad stated calmly, attempting to get through to the clone.

"Yeah! We free you and you turn on us!" Kid Flash snapped, not understanding the seriousness of their situation, "How's that for gra-"

"Kid, please be quiet now," Aqualad calmly cut the speedster off, "I believe our new friend was not in full control of his actions."

"What if… what if I wasn't?" Superboy asked slowly, looking around at the trapped heroes.

"He can talk?!" Kid Flash asked, astonished. Strike rolled his eyes at the speedster. Kid Flash _really_ needed to learn to think before he speaks.

Superboy clenched his fists, glaring up at Kid Flash, "Yes, _he_ can."

With angry glares, Robin, Aqualad, and Strike turned to the speedster.

"Not like I said it," The speedster defended with a soft shrug and a sheepish smile.

Aqualad looked thoughtfully at the clone, "The genomorph's taught you, telepathically?"

"They taught me much," Superboy confirmed, voice growing more and more confident, "I can read, write. I-I know the names of things."

"But have you seen them?" Robin inquired softly, "Have they ever actually let you see the sky? Or the sun?"

"Images are implanted in my mind, but no, I have not actually seen them," Superboy admitted with a hint of sadness in his tone as he bowed his head. Strike took note that the clone looked almost vulnerable and confused.

"Do you know what you are? Who you are?" Aqualad asked curiously.

Superboy's head snapped up as a wave of confidence washed over him, "I am the Superboy, a genomorph. A clone made from the DNA of the Superman, created to replace him should he perish… to destroy him should he turn from the Light."

A tension filled the air as the protégés soaked in what the clone had said. With Strike's attention solely focused on the clone for the time being, his lock picking ceased. Strike stared at the clone, trying to decipher him. As a bat, Strike was trained to read people like they were a book, but Superboy wasn't an ordinary book. He was a clone, designed to be a weapon, not a human. Therefore the emotions, or lack there for of, in his eyes were hard to decipher.

Every now and then Strike could pick up on the flashes of pain and isolation in the clone's blue eyes. But, almost as fast as the emotion was there, they were gone.

Deciding to break the tension, Strike spoke up, "Superman's a great guy to look up to, but that doesn't mean you can't have your own life."

"Strike is right," Aqualad agreed, taking over for the bat, "You should have a life beyond the solar suit, beyond your pod, beyond Cadmus."

"I live _because_ of Cadmus! It is my home!" Superboy snapped as an array of emotions flashed through his eyes before they settled on rage.

"Your home is a test tube," Robin deadpanned.

Strike looked at the clone sympathetically, "You deserve more than this. You deserve to see the sun, see th-"

"Uh, pretty sure it's after midnight," Kid Flash interjected with a glance at Strike. The speedster faced the clone before he could see the glare on Strike's face, "But we can show you the moon?"

"We can show you… no, introduce you, to Superman." Aqualad promised.

A hopeful look found its way onto Superboy's features and Strike had to resist the urge to smile. They were getting to him.

"No they can't," A voice piped up, instantly washing the look from Superboy's face. "They'll be otherwise… _occupied_."

Strike looked at the entrance to see Guardian and a couple scientists walking in. The first one was male with thin and gangly features. He was sporting a pair of oversized glasses on his thin face but they did nothing to hide the sunken eyes that took refuge behind the lenses. From his unkempt, ratty brown hair, shrewdly pulled back into a ponytail, Strike made the assumption the guy worked too hard and was in serious need of a vacation. And a makeover.

The second was a female who, without so much as a glance at the heroes, strode over to the computer. From her body language, Strike came to the conclusion she didn't want to be here. She didn't want to be a part of this but somehow, she was roped into this with no choice but to do what she's told.

The workaholic smirked at the captured protégés before turning towards the female scientist, "Activate the cloning process." He ordered and she complied. Strike frowned. Batman was so going to kill him and Robin.

"Pass!" Robin exclaimed, "Batcave's crowded enough."

Strike looked over at his partner incredulously, "Why do I feel like that was a jab at _me_?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Robin deadpanned as he faced forward. The only hint to the fact that he was joking was the barely noticeable upturned corners of his mouth.

Before Strike could respond with a smartass retort, Kid Flash cut in, "Uh, guys? We have more important things to worry about right now!"

"And get the weapon back in its pod!" The workaholic shouted at Guardian, completely ignoring the protégés that had spoken.

"Hey!" Kid Flash protested, "How come he gets to call Supey an it?"

"Oh I don't know Kid Doofus, maybe because he's a villain and therefore lacking in morals?" Strike retorted before promptly ignoring the glare from said speedster.

The only "hero" free strode forward and placed a hand on the clone's shoulder. Without so much as a glance, Superboy ignored Guardian before turning his attention back to the trapped protégés before him. The protégés were currently trying to do their best puppy dog looks to convince Superboy to help them. So far, they weren't sure if it was working.

The heroes were soon rewarded with a sign of hope as Superboy shrugged Guardian's hand off his shoulder. The hope was once against diminished as the workaholic scientist walked forward. The genomorph that sat comfortably on the man's shoulder jumped onto Superboy's and the emotion Strike was starting to get used to, was once again washed away.

"Don't start thinking now," Workaholic chastised, "See, you're not a _real_ boy. You're a weapon and you belong to _me._" There was a slight pause as he thought his words through, "Well to Cadmus. Same thing. Now get back to your pod!"

Without further protest, Superboy turned on his heel and strode out of the room, leaving four helpless heroes in the hands of a deranged, overworked scientist. This was going to go fantastic.

"Help us." Aqualad pleaded before the clone had fully left the room.

As if the plea didn't hit the clone's ears, the door closed with a soft hiss before the scientist turned towards the heroes with a smirk on his face. He glanced to his left and gave the other scientist a nod. She instantly began to clack away on the keyboard and, with a click of one last button, the cloning process began.

Strike subconsciously shriveled away from the metal arms that sprung up from the floor and were advancing on him. Each arm had four metal prongs, with needlelike tips, that sent sparks of electricity between each other. Strike didn't have the time to brace himself for the pain before the prongs each delved into his flesh, immediately sending spurts of electricity throughout his body.

A cry escaped his lips as the pain intensified. Strike tried to imagine the times he'd been beaten by the Joker, pinned down by Bane, and delirious from fear gas, but none of that could add up to the amount of pain he was currently feeling.

Strike could barely register the other cries the heroes around him were releasing. The feeling of the prongs embedded in his flesh was equal, if not greater, to the pain of being shot. At least with being shot, Strike dully thought, the pain, although great, only lasted for a short amount of time.

The taste of blood quickly began to fill the brunette's mouth as he realized he was biting his tongue. Quickly releasing his tongue, his eyes clenched as he pressed his teeth hard together, urging the pain to just be over and done.

Almost as if on cue, the pain stopped. Sighing in relief, Strike slumped in his bindings, ignoring the slight muscle spasms he was still having. He quickly jerked back up when he noticed that the clone, who had seemingly ditched them, was now standing in the doorway, with the door held high above his head.

Strike could only watch in slight amusement as the scene before him unfolded. Not only was _their_ weapon helping the heroes, but it seemed like Superboy had chosen to live his own life. Oh, how influential heroes could be.

Workaholics mouth began to move as he was, most likely, yelling at the clone but Strike heard nothing. So as Superboy merely shoved Guardian and the scientist out of the way, Strike shook his head to remove the ringing that was still plaguing his ears.

It took a moment, but when the ringing was finally gone, Superboy's voice was the first thing he heard, "…heat vision. So I guess helping is my only option." Strike blinked. Had Superboy just used humor?

Shaking his head, Strike ignored it as he shakily finished picking the lock. The lock clicked and Strike leapt out of the pod but when his feet hit the ground, his knees buckled.

"Strike," Robin knelt at his partners side, "Are you alright?"

"Yea, yea," Strike nodded as Robin helped him up, "But not for long. Batman's so going to have our heads after tonight."

Robin groaned, "Not just him, Babs too! We never called her!"

"Seriously, that's what you two are worried about?!" Kid Flash deadpanned, staring at the duo incredulously, "The _whole League'll_ have our heads after tonight!"

Behind his mask, Strike rolled his eyes as he walked over to a control panel. He quickly pressed a button and the pods opened up, "Rob, mind getting Kid Mouth?" Robin nodded and jumped onto Kid Flash's pod, "And Superboy," The clone's eyes narrowed dangerously and Strike immediately got the feeling he didn't wish to be ordered around, "Uh.. heh," The brunette chuckled nervously, "Never mind."

Superboy crossed his arms triumphantly and watched as Strike passed him before the young boy gracefully jumped up onto Aqualad's pod.

Strike tinkered with the lock for a few seconds before with a click, it opened. The duo jumped down before Aqualad placed a hand on the younger's shoulder.

"Thank you." Strike smiled and nodded.

With a quick regroup, the quartet of heroes raced off.

"You'll never get out of here!" Workaholic shouted as the five heroes ran by, "I'll have you back in pods before morning!"

"That guy is not whelmed, not whelmed at all," Robin muttered before sharing a look with Strike. The two bats pulled out a handful of birdarangs before they let them loose. With a clank, the birdagangs latched onto the tanks below the pods before promptly exploding, destroying any and all DNA that once swirled around in them.

"What is with you and this 'whelmed' thing?" Kid Flash wondered curiously as Robin and Strike caught up to him. The only response the speedster got was a simple shoulder shrug from Strike.

Strike's breathing became ragged and his legs began to protest as they raced through the tunnels, but he pressed on. There was _no_ _way _he was going back in a pod.

"We are still forty-two levels below ground," Aqualad called out from his position at the head of the group, "But if we can make the elevato-"

The quartet skidded to a halt as the mammoth creatures that almost crushed Kid Flash earlier, stepped out from the adjacent hall. The heroes made a move to double back, but the glowing red sacks plastered to the walls began to open, revealing goblin like creatures, who poised themselves to attack.

Glancing between the two options, the heroes felt they had a better chance with the mammoths, who were stronger, yet slower than the goblins.

Spinning on his heel, Strike followed after the others as they leapt and flipped over the mammoths. Well, the majority of them. Superboy, not seeming to understand the plan, leapt up and sent an uppercut to a mammoth's jaw, knocking him down. With Superboy's heavy hitting punches and the mammoth's heavy weight, the tunnel was beginning to shake. The shaking intensified and soon debris was falling.

"Superboy!" Aqualad shouted, catching the clone's attention, "The goal is escape! Not to bury ourselves here!"

"You want escape?" The enrage clone shouted, eyes ablaze. He grabbed a fallen mammoth by the arm and swung it around, right into the final two mammoths.

With the mammoths down, the heroes raced towards the elevator, assuming their new friend would follow. Aqualad quickly pried the doors open, allowing the teens access to their escape route.

Kid Flash leapt into the elevator first, seeing that he could super speed up the walls. Strike and Robin shot their grapple guns and began to ascend with the clone giving a lift to Aqualad.

The heroes began to move up the levels but with a shout from Superboy, they stopped.

"I-I'm falling,"

Strike's eyes widened behind his mask before he quickly reacted. The birdarang he launched flew through the air before it lodged itself into the metal walls of the elevator shaft, just within reach of the Atlantean.

"Superman can fly," Superboy voice sadly as Robin and Strike joined the others on a ledge, "Why can't I fly?"

Strike looked away sadly. He had no answer to that. None of them did. There should be no reason for Superboy to _not_ be able to fly. He was, after all, the clone of the Man of Steel. That _had_ to mean something.

"Don't know," Kid Flash shrugged, "But it does look like you can leap tall buildings in a single bound."

The speedster helped the other two onto the ledge, earning a quiet thanks from the clone.

Strike looked up as he heard the sound of an elevator starting up, "Guys," He called, looking at the group before pointing up.

"This'll have to be our exit!" Robin shouted.

Working together, Superboy and Aqualad punched the doors open, enabling the five teens to roll to safety in a rather normal looking hallway. They watched the elevator whiz by their floor before whirling around as the sound of genomorphs neared them.

"Go left!" Superboy spontaneously shouted, almost causing Strike to slip due to the sudden turning, "Right!" He called out after a bit of running.

The speedster and the clone were the first to enter the dead end, shortly after the final three joined to them.

Slowing to a halt, Strike glanced around the area for an escape route. Just as he noticed the ventilation shaft, Robin nudged him. The duo shared a look before stepping forward.

While Robin pulled up a map, Strike busied himself with taking care of the ventilation cover.

"Uh," Kid Flash looked curiously between the bats, "What're you guys up to?"

"Getting us an escape route," Robin commented as he typed away.

Kid Flash looked incrediusly at him, "You're expecting us to squeeze into that shaft?"

With a clang, the cover fell to the ground as Strike smirked at Kid Flash, "Unless you want to be genomorph food, I suggest you follow us." And with that said, Strike quickly leapt up and shimmied into the shaft, closely followed by Robin. The remaining three shared a look before they scrambled into the shaft and after their Gothamite friends.

"I thought you guys knew where you were going," Kid Flash grumbled from the middle of the pack. Robin just jutted his foot back, hitting Kid Flash's arm, "Ow." The speedster hissed.

"Which way, Rob?" Strike called back to his partner as he came across a fork in the shaft.

"Uh," Robin glanced down at his holo-glove, "Take a-"

"Ssh," Superboy hissed, causing the group to temporarily stop, "Listen."

Strike glanced back at Robin, "Hear anything?"

"No," Robin shook his head before glancing back down, "Take a right and in a couple meters will be out exit."

Strike nodded and immediately continued down the path he was told to take. A few meters later, the exit appeared. Kicking out with his foot, Strike knocked the cover off before quickly rolling out, allowing the rest of the group to exit as well.

As the ominous sound of claws scratching on metal became farther and farther away, Strike and Robin shared a high five before turning towards the rest of the group.

"What was that for?" Kid Flash questioned.

"We're in the clear now."

"How so?"

Robin smirked smugly, "We hacked the motion sensors."

Kid Flash let out a low whistle, "You guys are good."

"Don't we know it." The two bats chorused together.

"You two need to work on your modesty."

"There's still plenty of space between us and out." Robin said, ignoring Kid Flash.

"That just means I have room to move!" The speedster exclaimed, pulling his goggles over his eyes. With that, the red head raced off through the stairway door and up the flights of stairs.

Following his example, the rest of the teens quickly darted into the stairwell and began the long process of traipsing up the winding staircase. Aqualad was in the front with Strike and Robin in the center, typing away on their wrist computers and Superboy brought up the rear.

"More behind us!" Robin shouted a warning.

As the rest of the heroes carried on, Superboy paused to get rid of the trailing genomorphs. With a hefty stomp, he sent the flights of stairs crashing down, taking down the genomorphs that were climbing them. They pushed onwards until they finally reached sub-level one, just to encounter a closed, heavy door and a recovering speedster.

"We're cut off from the street," Aqualad pointed out. Strike rolled his eyes, resisting the urge to sass the Atlantean for pointing out the obvioius.

"Thanks," Kid Flash muttered sarcastically, rubbing his bruised head, "My head hadn't noticed."

As the alarm blared, Robin and Strike went to hacking into the security, but, even with the shared work, they weren't fast enough to hack it. And the two strongest members of the small group weren't strong enough to pry the door open.

With a frustrated growl, Strike closed down his glove before facing the others, "We can't hack this fast enough!"

Growling erupted from behind the heroes as some mammoths began to close in on them.

Acting quickly, Robin kicked the door closest to him, "This way!" He shouted before racing into the passage.

Following the cape crusader, the others raced after him. Robin froze, causing Strike to run into him, as the group entered into a crossroad. Each of the heroes tensed and slipped into fighting stances as they took in the genomorphs, ranging from the small genomorphs to the huge mammoth ones, surrounding them. In the middle of the genomorphs, seeming to be in charge, was Guardian.

As the heroes waited for the genomorphs to attack, they began to become uneasy. Why weren't they attacking? After chasing them throughout the grounds of Cadmus and finally cornering them, the creatures weren't going to attack? But the heroes were braced for the wrong attack.

Instead of the attack being physical, it was mental. As a force took over the teen's minds, black began to fill their vision until they each crumpled to the ground before slipping into darkness.

The force that took the heroes out disappeared, allowing the heroes to come to. As the heroes clambered up off the floor, Guardian rubbed his head and looked around, taking in his surroundings.

"I. Choose. Freedom." Superboy emphasized each word, making sure his choice was heard and understood.

"Feels like… fog lifting." Guardian mumbled, rubbing his head.

"Guardian?" Aqualad cautiously asked.

"Go," Guardian ordered the teens, "I'll deal with Desmond."

Strike quirked his brow. So that was workaholic-man-who-was-in-need-of-a-makeover's name. Everything is clear now!

"I think not," Speak of the devil! The crowd of genomorphs separated, allowing Desmond to step forward, "Project Blockbuster will give me to power to restore order to Cadmus."

Desmond held up a vial filled with an electric blue liquid. With a smirk, he quickly downed the vial, causing Strike to shiver. Anything that glowed a weird, electric blue color could _not_ be good.

As soon as the liquid was gone, Desmond collapsed to the ground as the sound of cracking bones and ripping skin rang through the air. The teens took a step back as the man began to mutate. His mass increased ten-fold as he grew taller and taller. Strike's eyes widened as the skin the doctors body began to tear and shred, eventually pulling away from the body to reveal a gray underlying layer. Seconds later, a large, muscular monster was standing before the group, ready for a fight. With a loud roar, Blockbuster flashed the group a malicious grin.

"Everyone back!" Guardian ordered, before rushing at the monster.

The hero didn't even prove a threat as Blockbuster quickly and easily knocked Guardian into one of the metal walls, knocking him out.

Superboy rushed forward, throwing a punch at the creature. It proved to be a bit more effective, but Blockbuster responded with a punch of his own and soon the duo were trading punches, each trying to one-up the other. The punches stopped when Blockbuster latched onto Superboy and threw him upwards and through the ceiling.

"Well, that's one way to blast through the ceiling," Robin observed, staring up at the whole.

Strike quickly rushed forward, staring up at the hole before he promptly fired a grappling hook.

"Just how many of those things do you guys have?!" Kid Flash asked, staring incrediously at the grapples each of the bats were now sporting.

Robin and Strike shared a look, shrugging, "As many as we need."

Kid Flash rolled his eyes before hitching a ride with Robin, "Think lab coat planned that?"

"I do not think he is planning anything anymore," Aqualad remarked, accepting the hand Strike offered him. The duo flew upwards and joined the rest of their posse.

Just as they landed, Blockbuster tossed Superboy. The clone collided with Aqualad, sending them flying backwards. The three standing teens spun on their heels and raced towards the falling comrades. As the quartet regrouped, they braced themselves for battle before charging the enemy.

Kid Flash easily zipped ahead, sliding under Blockbuster and popping back up on his other side. Superboy and Aqualad charged at the creature and delivered a double punch. The force sent Blockbuster reeling backwards and into Kid Flash, who was propped up on his hands and knees, and tripping him. The creature fell backwards with a roar as Kid Flash smirked down at him.

"Learned that one in kindergarten,"

Strike and Robin followed up Kid Flash's attack with one of their own. The duo flipped over the speedster before launching a barrage of birdarangs, which proved to be unsuccessful as Blockbuster just swatted the weapons away like they were nothing.

Rolling over, Blockbuster came face to face with Superboy, who was ready to punch his lights out. Superboy braced himself as, with a loud growl, Blockbuster tackled Superboy into a pillar, causing the whole building to shake. Superboy retaliated with a punch as the duo went at each other, until Aqualad joined the fight.

Using Aqualad as a bat, he smashed the Atlantean into the clone just as Kid Flash came barreling towards Blockbuster. Thinking quickly on his part, Blockbuster knocked the three super teens into each other. With the three powered teens out for the time being, Blockbuster went after the bats.

With a startled cry, Strike and Robin rolled out of the way, narrowly avoiding being flattened. The two popped back up before running off, leaving a wake of explosives in their path. The bombs went off, surrounding Blockbuster in a sheath of smoke. As the creature wildly swung its arms around, Robin and Strike attacked. Moving as one, the bats launched into a series of kicks and jabs all the while avoiding the blind strikes from Blockbuster and successfully pissing the creature off.

As the smoke dissipated, Strike and Robin went to make their exit. Before Strike was out of harm's way, Blockbuster made a blind grab for him and successfully grabbed Strike's cape.

Strike gasped as he was suddenly lifted into the air by the very cape he swore would kill him one day. From the looks of it, that day could be today.

"I told you, Robin," Strike yelled as he tinkered with removing the cape, "This cape is going to be the death of me!"

Blockbuster, seemingly not amused by the bat, roared in his face. Strike grimaced at the dank breath the creature had before calmly reaching into his utility belt.

"You need a breath mint." He deadpanned before dropping a smoke pellet into the still open mouth of the creature. The creature began to hack and cough as smoke began to fill his mouth. His arms began to flail, dropping Strike in the process, as he attempted to remove the smoke from his mouth.

Once the smoke had cleared, Blockbuster was greeted with a fist from Superboy. The force of the punch sent Blockbuster flying backwards, into another pillar. The building began shake once again as support was beginning to deplete.

"The pillars!" Strike and Robin cried. Activating his wrist computer, Robin downloaded the blueprints before quickly pulling them up. The duo glanced over the blueprints, taking in the locations where the most structural damage had been done.

"Here," Strike pointed to a spot in the room, "That's where most of the debris will fall."

Robin nodded his head, understanding where Strike was going, "We lead Dr. Freakazoid there and the weight will take him out for us."

"Exactly, now let's tell the others."

"KF," Robin called out, gaining the speedster's attention, "Get over here!"

The speedster did as he was told and zipped to the Gothamites side.

"What's up?"

"We're going to bring the house down," Strike explained. He pointed to a spot on the blueprint where a pillar had gone red, most likely from Superboy crashing into it, showing the structural damage.

Kid Flash nodded his head, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips, "Kid Distraction at your service."

"Just go!" Robin rolled his eyes before turning to Strike, "You set up the bombs, I'll tell Aqualad and Superboy." Strike nodded and raced off.

The plan was quickly put into action, Kid Flash, Aqualad and Superboy initiated pillar destruction, Strike distributed explosives left and right, making sure each pillar got one, while Robin sketched out the location where Blockbuster was to be lead to. As soon as the final play of the plan was to be initiated, Aqualad dispersed a pool of water that the Kryptonian knocked Blockbuster into. Before he had a chance to get up, Aqualad shocked the creature.

"Move!" Robin ordered as soon as the creature was down and almost out.

The quartet of heroes raced away from Blockbuster towards a safer area. Strike felt the scorching heat as the bombs went off but that was short lived as the two most durable teens dove over the top of Kid Flash, Robin and Strike, protecting them from a majority of the explosion.

When the debris and rubble settled, Strike opened his eyes, but there wasn't much to see. Everything was pitch black, the layer of rubble effectively blocking out any and all light. Eventually the strongest of the bunch shifted and pulled the rubble off the group, allowing them some breaths of fresh air. Strike gratefully swallowed up as much fresh air as was humanly possibly as he sprawled out on the concrete, staring blankly up at the sky.

As the adrenaline slowly depleted from his veins, Strike took noticed of the pain that was spread throughout his body. Not only were his muscles sore as can be, but he was covered in a multitude of small cuts and scrapes thanks to the rubble. Still, Strike can remember being in worse pain.

"We… did it." Aqualad huffed out, staring proudly at the rag tag team of heroes.

"Was there… ever any doubt?" Robin grinned, panting. He turned to give Kid Flash a high five, but they both winced in pain instead.

Despite his pain, Strike felt a sense accomplishment and pride. They had done it, without the League. Hopefully now, the League would see them as equals and treat them as such.

Strike clambered up to his feet, swaying slightly as a wave of vertigo washed over him. As soon as it passed, Strike stood up straight, much to the protest of his muscles. All Strike wanted to do at the moment was take a nice hot bath and sleep for eternity.

There was some crunching and Strike turned his head to see Superboy staring at the unconscious form of Blockbuster. Strike could only imagine the things running through the clone's head. Superboy was free, no longer just a living weapon. He could live his own life, follow his own path.

"See?" Kid Flash spoke up, breaking Strike, and Superboy, out of his thoughts. The red head pointed up at the full moon, smiling brightly, "The moon."

The five teens turned their heads upwards, ignoring any and all pain they felt at the moment, to stare at the brightly lit mass. After a few moments of staring, a black dot began to grow closer and closer, eventually revealing itself to be Superman.

"Oh, and Superman! Do we keep our promises or what?" Kid Flash chirped, not at all fazed by the Man of Steel advancing on them. Strike, however, had a feeling Superman wasn't the only Leaguer coming to scold them. The same feeling was shared by Robin as the two shared a weary glance.

Sure enough, they were right. Leaguers began to appear out of the sky left and right, the ones who couldn't fly, stood on green platforms created by the Green Lanterns. They formed up around the crater, circling around the five heroes as if they suspected them to run. Only the major Leaguers stepped down and made their approach. Their eyes scanned over the teens, taking in their torn, ragged, and bleeding figures.

Superboy was the first to make a move. He stepped forward, leaving his saviors behind, and closer to the man of whom he was created from. Superman's eyes narrowed as his clone walked towards him and Strike frowned. Usually the Big Blue Boy Scout was accepting of everything. As soon as Superboy held up his 'S' shield, a wide array flashed through Superman's eyes.

Superboy smiled hopefully at Superman as if to tell the Man of Steel that it was okay, that it was okay to accept him. But the smile was quickly wiped off his face as Superman's face contorted into one of anger. Strike resisted the urge to place a comforting hand on the clone's shoulder. After all, his pretty much father just rejected him.

Batman was the first to speak up, "Is that what I think it is?" He questioned coldly.

Strike's eyes narrowed at his mentor, anger boiling up in him. Superboy was so much more than an it, but he had to remind himself that this was Batman, the Dark Knight. It was his job to be the one to get straight to the point, no matter how cold he sounded because somewhere, Batman did care. But that part of him was Bruce Wayne and as a vigilante, he couldn't afford to be Bruce Wayne.

"He doesn't like being called an it," Kid Flash warned in a mock whisper.

"I'm Superman's clone," Superboy announced, anger and frustration flash through his eyes.

As the information settled in, the Leaguers began to stare wide eyed at Superboy. While the rest of the League rustled uncomfortably, Batman narrowed his eyes.

"Start talking."

With that said, the teens began to hurriedly explain the whole ordeal to the Dark Knight, starting from page one.

Once the teens were done talking, Batman gave them a curt nod before turning on his heel, cape flaring out behind him, to talk to the other Leaguers about the situation at hand.

The exhausted and fatigued teenagers huddled together as the Leaguer's conversed. Strike's head looked up as he watched several Leaguers fly off, with Blockbuster in tow. As the teens stood awkwardly around, Superboy kept sending glances in Superman's direction, willing him to come over and talk to him.

Superboy got his wish as Superman heaved a heavy sigh and made his way over to the group. He stopped awkwardly in front of Superboy, "We'll, uh, we'll figure something out for you," Superman tensed slightly before going on, "The League will, I mean," He clarified quickly, "For now, I… better make sure they get that Blockbuster creature squared away."

Almost as soon as the last word left his mouth, Superman flew off into the crisp night air, leaving behind his clone.

"Cadmus will be investigated," Batman announced. Strike turned his head to face his mentor as he approached, with Aquaman and Flash in tow, "All fifty-two levels, but let's make one thing clear-"

"You should've called!" Flash interjected impatiently. Batman flashed the Flash a quick, yet powerful Batglare, causing the impatient speedster to stand down before he continued.

"And results aside, we _are not_ happy," Batman continued, voice dropping a couple octaves and Strike flinched at how close the voice he was using on them was to the growl he used against Gotham villains, "You hacked Justice League systems, disobeyed direct orders and endangered lives," He listed off, "You will _not_ be doing this again."

Silence fell upon the young heroes as they shifted uncomfortably, but with once glance at each other, they took on more confident stances. They were done being treated like sidekicks. Today was _the_ day. The day the League saw them as something much more than mere sidekicks.

Aqualad stood up straighter, declaring that he be listened to, "I am sorry, but we will."

Aquaman stepped forward, "Aqualad, stand down," He ordered.

"Apologies my king," Aqualad sent his king a slight bow, showing that he meant to disrespect, "But _no_. We did good work here tonight, the work _you_ trained us to do. Together, on our _own_, we forged something powerful, _important_."

"If this is about your treatment at the hall," Flash started, "The four of you-"

"The _five_ of us," Kid Flash interjected with a slight glare at his mentor, "And it's not."

Robin and Strike shared a look before they approached their mentor.

"Batman," Robin started, a slightly pleading tone underlying his voice, "We're ready to use what you taught us. Or why teach us at all?"

"You, of all people, should know we are ready," Strike cracked a slight grin, "After all, you did teach us."

"Why let _them_ tell us what to do?" Superboy snapped angrily, still upset about his treatment from Superman, "It's simple: get on board or get out of the way."

Batman's eyes narrowed as the five heroes stood defiantly before them. It was obvious from their posture that they weren't going to take no for an answer. Batman thought through the options he had at hand. The teens could either go rogue on him, or use their defiance and want to be treated equal as an advantage for him.

He knew his choice.

"Give me three days," Batman demanded. His eyes scanned over the heroes, daring them to challenge him, but none of them would. They didn't want to ruin the opportunity they had, "Robin, Strike," Batman barked at his protégés. The two snapped to attention before quickly trailing after their mentor.

"I'm not happy," Batman said as the batmobile took off, "What were you two thinking?"

Strike flashed his mentor a sheepish smile, "We were thinking maybe this was our chance to prove ourselves to you guys?"

Batman sighed before pulling off his cowl to reveal Bruce Wayne. His protégés, taking the hint, removed their masks, "You guys succeeded in proving that you can't listen to orders."

"Actually," Dick piped up, "You said we couldn't help out with the blotting out the sun mission. Cadmus was never addressed."

Bruce rolled his eyes, a small smile tugging on the corner of his lips, "Ah, the ever allusive loophole." He glanced at his protégés before shaking his head, "You guys still almost got yourselves killed and-"

"The key word being, _almost_." Jace interjected with a smirk before he leaned back in the plush, leather seats.

Bruce flashed Jace a quick glare before continuing on, "Even so, I'm still not happy and as a result, you two will be properly punished."

Dick paled as Jace smirked slightly, "Come on Bruce, we both know you can't ground me."

"No," Bruce agreed, nodding his head, "But I can assign a mandatory training day tomorrow." Bruce smirked as both his protégés shared scared expressions. With the condition they were in right now, a training session was _not_ something the doctor would recommend. Jace already wanted to die right now. He couldn't even imagine how he'd feel _after_ the training session.

With the forlorn news that the teens would spend all day tomorrow in pain, the rest of the ride home was relatively silent, minus the few hisses of pain as the teens shifted around in the seats.

Jace sat up and slapped his mask back on his face as they approached his house. Parking the Batmobile a few blocks away, Bruce faced Jace.

"I'll see you bright eyed and bushy tailed at six o'clock."

Jace's eyes widened, "But it's already 3:30!" He cried.

"Then I guess you'd better get going," Bruce winked at Jace before the Batmobile opened up.

Jace scrambled out of the car, mumbling incoherent things to himself as he trudged home.

The teen had just climbed up the fire escape and was about to climb in his window when a voice stopped him.

"Well, well, well," Jace's head snapped up and his eyes narrowed. Standing above him was his brothers, fully decked out in their garb, "The prodigal son has finally returned."

"I'm not in the mood for you guys right now," Jace growled as he slid his window open.

There were a couple thuds behind him and Jace turned around to see his brothers had joined him.

"You look like shit," Andy pointed out, taking in the torn up costume and scratched figure that was Jace.

"No shit, Sherlock," Jace snapped, causing Andy to frown.

"No need to be so harsh."

"Sheesh," Will chuckled darkly, "What's go your panties in a bunch?"

"Nothing that concerns you," Jace muttered as he slid through his window, "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed."

With that said, Jace slammed his window shut before closing the curtains so his brothers were out of sight. With a groan, Jace face planted on his bed, not ever bothering to take his uniform off because he'd just have to put it back on in a few hours anyways. All his clean, not torn spares were in the Batcave.

Not even five minutes later, Jace was out like a light, bits and pieces of the night's escapades flashing through his mind.

**MOUNT JUSTICE  
July 8, 08:04 EDT**

Strike shifted the sunglasses on his nose uncomfortably. He had always hated sunglasses.

"Why do we have to wear these again?" Strike questioned his mentor as he glared at the lenses on his face.

"Because," Batman answered briskly, "Your secret ID's are important and they must remain a _secret_."

"Even from a Team of our own?" Robin questioned, clearly not having as many issues with the sunglasses as Strike was.

Batman nodded as they entered the main hall of Mount Justice, "Even from them."

Strike glanced around the Cave in awe as Leaguer's flew around, fixing it up. After all, it had been decommissioned for a while now.

Robin and Strike took notice of the other three teens already standing in a line and rushed over to them, falling in line next to them.

"This Cave was the original secret sanctuary of the Justice League," Batman explained, pacing in front of the young heroes, "We're calling it into service again since you five are determined to stay together and fight the good fight, you'll do it on League terms." Red Tornado and Black Canary stepped forward as Batman pointed to them, "Red Tornado volunteered to stay here and be your supervisor. Black Canary's in charge of training. _I_ will deploy you on missions."

"_Real_ missions?" Robin questioned his mentor.

"Yes," Batman agreed, nodding his head, "But covert."

"The League will still handle the obvious stuff," Flash spoke up, causing the protégés to look at him, "There's a reason we have these big targets on our chest."

"But Cadmus proves the bad guys are getting smarter," Aquaman spoke up, "Batman needs a Team that can operate on the sly."

"The six of you will be that Team,"

"Cool!" Robin grinned, sharing a fist bump with Strike. The smiles on their faces quickly retreated when they realized something, "Wait, six?" Unless Batman somehow did his math wrong, there were only five protégés present.

Batman's gaze looked up and the protégés turned around as a young girl, with green skin and auburn hair, entered the room, closely followed by Martian Manhunter.

"This is the Martian Manhunter's niece, Miss Martian." Batman explained. Smiles broke out on all, well almost all, of the teens face as they took in the cute girl.

"Hi," Miss Martain smiled shyly with a wave.

"Liking this gig more and more every minute," Kid Flash grinned at Robin and Strike. He approached Miss Martian with an overfriendly smile, "Welcome aboard! I'm Kid Flash, that's Robin, Strike, Aqualad. It's cool if you forget their names."

Strike slightly glared at Kid Flash as he passed him by, "Ignore Kid Idiot," He smiled with a wink at the Martian, "He's nothing special."

"Hey!" Kid Flash exclaimed, racing to Strike's side, "I take offense to that!"

"Good, that's what I was aiming for," Strike said with a laugh, elbowing the speedster lightly in the gut. Kid Flash scowled at the bat but that was quickly replaced with a smile when Miss Martian giggled.

Robin let out a laugh as the joined the trio with Aqualad in tow, "Hey Superboy!" He called to the clone, "Come meet Miss M!"

Superboy approached the teens and Miss Martian smiled shyly at him as her shirt changed to match his, "I like you T-shirt." She grinned.

Superboy smiled softly at the Martian while Robin elbowed him knowingly in the gut. Strike grinned as he crossed his arms.

Aqualad looked at all of the teens, smiling, "Today is the day."

Aqualad could not have been more right.

* * *

**A/N:** **Guess who's writing third person from now on? I don't know why I never did that before... **

**Anyways, I guess I should probably explain why Falcon hasn't been updated yet... Well you see, I uhmm... Accidently saved over the next chapter with a file I needed for school. Meaning that, the next chapter is gone and I HAVE TO START OVER. /SOBS VIOLENTLY I rage quit and decided to work on this because well, why not? I was in the zone for writing, just not Falcon after I lost the chapter.**

**So yea, next chapter of Falcon should be out by next Friday (hopefully) **

**A note about this story. I do have bigger plans for this story simply because yea, Falcon follows the plot but I'm pretty sure Strike will as well (at least for some episodes) but Strike will also have a bunch more chapters not following the plot (well hopefully, if I can get my creative juices flowing)**

**I bid you all farewell and I thank you for reading. **


	4. Welcome to Happy Harbor

**GOTHAM CITY  
July 18, 10:16 EDT**

Soft snores were just barely heard as the bedroom door creaked open. Andy Mallory snickered before quickly silencing himself when Jace rustled in his sleep. Taking cautious steps, Andy made his way towards the bed. Pulling out an air horn, Andy silently counted down from three, preparing to press the button.

Just as his finger was about to press down, he froze, "Don't even think about it." Came Jace's drowsy voice, before he groggily turned over, lightly glaring at his brother.

Andy plastered a blank expression on his face, hiding the air horn behind his back. He silently cursed Jace's bat instincts, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"There's an air horn behind your back." Jace deadpanned, eyes fluttering closed. All Jace wanted to do was sleep. After all, he was out late last night helping a not too happy red archer out.

"Oh, you mean this?" Andy pulled the air horn out, flashing it in front of Jace's face, "It's not like I was going to use it or anything."

Jace's eyes cracked open, peering accusingly at his brother, "Mhmm. Sure you weren't."

Andy pouted, grumbling, "Fine. I'll leave."

Jace smiled triumphantly as his brother left his room. Rolling back over, he curled up in the covers, effectively dozing back off.

Unbeknownst to Jace, his bedroom door creaked back open as Andy, once again, snuck back in his room, "I didn't buy this thing for nothing." He muttered as he crept back over towards Jace's sleeping form. Not bothering with a countdown this time, Andy's finger jabbed right down on the button, eliciting a loud, resounding toot from the object.

Jace's eyes snapped open and in a flurry of blankets, he found himself on the ground, "Damn it Andy!" Jace cried, spring up to his feet, "I told you not to do that!"

Andy, between bouts of laughter, glanced up at his fuming younger brother, "Just because you said not to," He wheezed, still laughing his ass off, "Doesn't mean I'm not going to!"

Jace growled, glaring at his brother. _Sometimes,_ Jace thought,_ I hate my brothers more than anything._

A screech escaped Andy's lips as Jace dove towards his brother. Tearing out of the room, Jace missed Andy before he leapt back to his feet, chasing down the young villain.

Samantha Anderson rolled her eyes as two of her adopted sons came racing into the kitchen. Sliding on his socks, Andy slid on the linoleum floor before coming to a stop right behind Sam. At the same time, Jace skidded in, halting across the table from him, his teeth bared and an angry look in his eyes.

Sam, semi amused, took a sip of her coffee before she continued to read the newspaper, "What'd you do this time, Andy?"

"I-"

"He blew a fucking air horn in my ear! That's what he did!" Jace shouted, cutting Andy off.

"Jace," Sam chided, glancing up at the younger boy, "Language."

"Sorry." Jace mumbled, glancing down sheepishly for a moment. Sam chuckled quietly before she craned her neck, glancing behind her at Andy.

"Andy, where in good heavens did you get the idea to do that?"

Andy shrugged, "I saw an air horn and the idea came to me."

Jace's glare intensified, "Really? And the first person you thought to use it on was me?!"

"Of course!" Andy chirped, smirking at his brother, "As the baby brother, you are deemed the perfect specimen for experimental pranks."

"Thanks," Jace grumbled, crossing his arms, "My eardrums really appreciate it."

Andy laughed, ignoring the sarcasm in the younger's voice, "Any time baby bro!"

Jace's eyes narrowed further as he continued to glare at Andy. A goofy grin spread across Andy's face, which caused Jace to roll his eyes. Jace knew for a fact that, no matter what, he wasn't going to be getting an apology out of Andy.

"Whatever," Jace grumbled, exiting the kitchen. He made a beeline towards his bedroom but paused once his phone went off.

'_Meet you at MJ? RT may have something for us!' –Dick._

Quickly stepping into his room, Jace threw on a pair of dark blue, denim jeans. Throwing on a white t-shirt, he tugged on a blue sweatshirt. Walking over to his closet, he reached into the far back, snatching is utility belt. Coiling it up, he tucked it into a pocket before walking out.

Slipping his shoes on, Jace walked towards the front door, calling out, "I'm going to go over to Dick's."

"Have fun at your boyfriend's!" Came Andy's immediate response, earning himself an elbow in the gut from Sam.

"Andy." Came Sam's light scolding, to which Andy ignored.

"Ugh!" Jace cried out, snagging his keys and sunglasses before exiting the apartment with a slam of the door.

Stepping into the dirty streets of Gotham, Jace slipped his sunglasses over his eyes before making his way down the sidewalk.

* * *

"_Recognized: Strike: B-Zero-Two."_

As soon as the coolness of the Cave washed over Strike, he felt calmer. Even though they've only been a Team for a few short weeks, Strike already felt at home at the Cave, even more so since his annoying brothers weren't here.

"Good morning, Strike!" Miss Martian chirped, catching Strike off guard. Strike tensed, but quickly relaxed when he realized it was just their resident Martian smiling happily at him.

Strike smiled, "Morning, Miss Martian."

Falling into step with the older girl, the duo walked over towards the Atlantean and the clone, who were watching a holo-screen.

"Hello, Strike." Aqualad greeted Strike in the formal tone he always spoke with, "Where is Robin? I was under the impression him and Kid Flash were accompanying you."

Strike frowned. He didn't know that, "Uhmm…" Strike replied, "They should be here soon."

"Good," Superboy nodded, "I'm itching for some action."

Strike glanced at the clone before looking at the screen. The holo-graphic screen currently showed the path RT was making, "When's RT going to be here?"

"He should arrive any minute now." Aqualad replied, eyeing the screen.

"Good. So should the ninja midget and Kid Idiot." Strike crossed his arms, laughing slightly at his own joke. His laughter ceased when he realized no one else was laughing. Instead, they all were staring at him curiously.

Miss Martian cocked her head to the side, slightly confused, "Who?"

Strike sighed, of course they wouldn't get his humor, "Robin and Kid Flash."

"Oh," She nodded, still slightly confused, "But if they're your friends, why would you make fun of them?"

"Because-"

"_Recognized: Robin: B-Zero-One. Kid Flash: B-Zero-Three." _

The two boys entered the Cave, excitement radiating off of them. With quick, excited glances, they raced over to the rest of their Team.

"Have you asked him yet?" Robin grinned, excitement radiating off in waves.

"What'd he say?" Kid Flash questioned before anyone had a chance to respond.

Strike chuckled, crossing his arms, "Relax, West. Patience is a virtue!"

"Oh come on!" Kid Flash rolled his eyes, "Don't tell me you're not excited!"

"Never said that." Strike retorted. He was excited; however, he was also nervous. What if RT had nothing for them?

Aqualad smiled, glancing from the screen to the boys, "He is arriving now."

Kid Flash grinned, exclaiming, "Then what are we waiting for!?" Snagging Robin's and Strike's shoulders, the duo were dragged out with the speedster, the rest following them.

As they walked down a long hallway, the end of it lowered, revealing the bright blue sky. Racing up the ramp, the young heroes smiled as Red Tornado landed.

"Red Tornado!" Kid Flash waved.

"Greetings," The robot began monotonously, "Is there a reason you have intercepted me outside the Cave?"

"We hoped you had a mission for us." Aqualad calmly explained.

"Mission assignments are the Batman's responsibility."

Robin stepped forward, protesting, "But it's been over a week and-"

Red Tornado held up his hand, cutting Robin off, "You'll be tested soon enough. For the time being, enjoy each other's company."

Strike huffed, crossing his arms, "We didn't come here for play dates."

"No, but I have been told social interaction is an important Team building exercise. Perhaps you can keep busy by familiarizing yourselves with the Cave." Red Tornado suggested, pushing past the heroes.

"Keep busy?" Kid Flash huffed, lightly punching Strike. Strike glowered, glaring at the retreating form of Red Tornado.

"Does he think we're falling for this?!" Robin scoffed, sharing an annoyed glance with Kid Flash.

"It sure seems like it," Strike grumbled, arms crossed.

"Oh!" Miss Martian exclaimed, "I'll find out!" Turning around, she stared at Red Tornado's back intently. A concentrated look overtook her features as the boys stared at her curiously.

A few moments later, she sighed, turning to glance at her company, "I-I'm sorry. I forgot. He's a machine, inorganic. I cannot read his mind."

"Nice try thought," Kid Flash comforted, a slight flirty tone edging into his voice, "So, uh," He stuffed his hands into his pockets, staring dreamily up at the Martian, "You know what _I'm_ thinking right now?"

Robin snorted, jutting his elbow into the speedster's lower back, "We _all_ know what you're thinking right now."

"Yea," Strike scoffed, "No need for telepathy here!"

"Dudes!" Kid Flash exclaimed, glaring at his so-called 'best friends.' "Why pick on me?!"

Ignoring everything Kid Flash said, Aqualad glanced around, "And now we tour the clubhouse." He said in an un-amused tone.

"Well, Superboy and I live here, we can play tour guides?" Miss Martian kindly suggested.

Strike glanced over at Superboy, as did everyone else, causing the clone's eyes to fly open in a slight panic, "Don't look at me!"

"We won't," Kid Flash interjected quickly, turning his attention back to Miss Martian, "A private tour would be much better." He flirted with a wink. Miss Martian smiled kindly, not quite sure what to make of his flirting.

Robin stepped forward, stuttering his snap, "S-she never said private!" Strike quirked a brow. It was obvious to him how Kid Flash felt about the Martian, but Robin apparently took a liking to her too? Strike's eyes roamed over to the Martian; she was cute and Strike did understand how Robin could like her, after all, Robin had a thing for red heads.

"Strike?" Strike glanced up, focusing on what was in front of him. Superboy was staring at him curiously while everyone was standing a few meters away, "You coming?"

"Y-yea." Strike quickly nodded, following after the clone.

Miss Martian smiled at the boy before turning around, gesturing around her, "This would be the front door…"

* * *

"And this would be the back." Miss Martian concluded the tour. Strike smiled, staring out at the vast, beautiful view of the harbor they had. A light, warm breeze blew by, ruffling the hero's hair before they turned around, reentering the Cave.

"The Cave is actually the entire mountain!"

"It was hollowed out and reinforced by Superman and Green Lantern back in the early days." Kid Flash chimed in, attempting to impress Miss Martian with his knowledge. Strike and Robin held in snorts, clearly amused by their friends failed flirting skills.

Superboy looked towards Kid Flash, asking, "Then why abandon it for the Hall of Justice?"

"The Cave's secret location was… _compromised_." Aqualad answered.

"So they traded it in for a tourist trap?" Superboy questioned, slightly confused. Pushing the confusion away, Superboy scoffed, choosing to comment on the League's idiocy instead, "Yea, that makes sense."

Strike resisted the urge to chuckle. He had forgotten Miss Martian and Superboy didn't know about the Watchtower and for now, they wouldn't know about it. Mainly due to the fact they would, most likely, be in further trouble if they informed the duo of the real headquarters.

Miss Martian's hand flew to her face, pondering, "If the villains know of our location, then we must be on constant alert!" She concluded.

Robin swooped in, snagging the Martian's hands in his own, "The bad guys know we know they know about the place, so they'd never think to look here!"

The confusion on Miss Martian's face caused Strike to laugh, "The bad guys won't be looking for us here because they know we know they know about Mount Justice, keeping us nice and safe here." Miss Martian smiled, still confused, but slightly less confused. All in all, she really didn't know what the bats were talking about.

"Ignore the bats," Kid Flash stepped forward, removing Miss Martian's hands from Robin's grasp, "They insist on making everything more difficult."

"Hey," Strike grinned, "Life's no fun if it's not a challenge!"

Kid Flash rolled his eyes, ignoring Strike, "What they mean is; we're hiding in plain sight."

"Leave it to Kid Flash to dumb it down," Robin snickered to Strike. Upon catching the speedster's glare, the duo looked away, pretending to not have seen a thing.

Miss Martian took her hands back, scratching her head, "Ah, that makes… much more sense."

Superboy sniffed the air, deadpanning, "I smell smoke."

"That has to be the calmest reaction to the smell of smoke I have ever seen." Strike commented, shaking his head.

In contradiction to Strike's comment, Miss Martian elicited a loud, shocked gasp, "My cookies!" She immediately took off, flying towards the kitchen, where the smoke was evidently coming from.

"Well," Robin glanced at Strike, "So much for a calm reaction?"

Strike smiled, racing after Miss Martian with the other boys on his heels, "I was talking about Superboy, but you know, whatever."

Filing into the kitchen, the boys watched as Miss Martian levitated a tray of heavily burnt cookies out of the oven. The immediate area filled with the scent of smoke as Strike studied the burnt crisps.

Miss Martian looked down at her cookies, frowning, "I was trying out Grammy Jone's recipe from episode seventeen of uh…" She trailed off, chuckling nervously, "Uh, never mind."

Strike picked up a crisp, examining it closely. Sniffing it, he took a small bite, flinching slightly as the charred, crispy cookie made a loud crunching sound, "They taste," He swallowed, forcing himself not to grimace at the burnt taste, "Uh… fine?" His comment made the Martian perk up slightly.

"You hesitated." Robin pointed out. Strike sent his partner a glare, to which Robin cheekily grinned, "Besides," He turned towards Miss Martian, gesturing at the speedster, "He doesn't seem to mind."

Strike glanced towards Kid Flash, who was scarfing down the crisps. Noticing everyone was staring at him, Kid Flash smiled sheepishly, swallowing the bite in his mouth, "I uh… have a serious metabolism?"

"I uh… I'll make more?" Miss Martian hesitantly asked, more than stated.

"It was sweet of you to make any," Aqualad pointed out, smiling kindly at the Martian. Strike nodded his head in agreement. Besides, who wouldn't enjoy a cute, sweet girl making cookies for them?

Miss Martian clasped her hands together, smiling softly, "Thanks Aqualad."

"We're off duty," Aqualad said, gesturing to himself, "Call me Kaldur'ahm. Actually, my friends call me Kaldur."

Kid Flash leaned on the island, smiling dreamily at Miss Martian, "I'm Wally. See? I already trust you with my secret ID. Unlike the dynamic dark sunglasses duo over there," He gestured to the bats, who were, in return, glaring at the speedster, "Batman's forbidden the Boy Wonders from revealing their real identities."

Strike rolled his eyes, deciding to not comment on the majority of what Wally had said, "To be fair, _Wally_, Kaldur trusted Miss Martian with his secret ID first."

Wally scoffed, "So? At least _I_ told her who _I_ really am!"

Before Strike had a chance to retort, Miss Martian stepped forward, standing between the two boys, "Mine's no secret!" She chirped, giggling, "It's M'gann M'orzz! But you can call me Megan. It's an Earth name and I'm on Earth now."

From the corner of his eye, Strike saw Superboy exiting the kitchen. In one swift movement however, the Clone whirled around, an angry glint in his eye, "Get out of my head!" He roared. Strike blinked, confused by his outburst until a voice echoed in his skull.

'_What's wrong?' _The boys all clasped their heads in pain, _'I-I don't understand. Everyone on Mars communicates telepathically!'_

"M'gann, stop," Kaldur scolded firmly. Almost instantaneously Strike felt the tension in his mind disappear as his mind became his own once more, "Things on Earth are different. Whereas on Mars your powers are normal, here they are an extreme invasion of privacy."

"Besides," Wally spoke up, leaning forward with his hand cupping his mouth, "Cadmus's psychic gnomes left a bad taste in his brain."

"I-I didn't mean to-"

"Just. Stay. _Out._" Superboy growled, storming off. Strike glanced around, sensing the awkward silence that had settled on the group.

The silence lasted only a few mere seconds, but when it's an awkward one, it can feel like an eternity. It ended when M'gann suddenly smacked herself on the forehead, earning a concerned glance from Strike, "_Hello Megan!_ I know what we can do!" Without explaining herself, she flew out of the room. Strike shared a glance with Wally before the four disappeared down the hall, leaving Superboy behind.

Strike followed everyone into the elevator but before the button was pressed, M'gann noticed they were missing a member, "Where's Superboy?"

"Sulking in the lounge," Wally answered. Upon noticing M'gann's concerned look, Wally tried to pick back up with the flirting, "Come on babe, he's nothing special." He waggled his eyebrows, voice taking on a husky tone, "Why don't you just show me this thing you're so excited about?"

M'gann shrunk back slightly, however, the motion was unnoticed by Wally, "I uh…" She glanced down the hall, "We can't just leave him out. I'll be right back!" Without further protest, she flew down the hall.

"Dude," Strike crossed his arms, shaking his head. For a kid who was supposedly a genius, could Wally reall not see M'gann's lack of interest?

"What?" Wally faced the bat.

"Your flirting is pathetic." Robin spoke up.

Wally glared at the bats, but the pout on his face hindered the intensity of the glare, "It is not!"

"It-"

"I got Superboy!" M'gann chirped, floating into the elevator. The Clone, looking slightly less angry, stepped into the elevator and with a ding, the doors closed, taking the heroes down.

The elevators slid open, revealing the hanger. Strike looked around, expecting some great and huge Martian ship. However, what he wasn't expecting was a red and blue blob sitting dead center on the landing pad. Sharing a glance with Robin, Strike quirked a brow. In response, Robin shrugged before exiting the elevator.

"It's my Martian Bioship!" M'gann announced; voice filled with pride as she gestured to the blob.

"It's a blob," Strike commented, staring curiously at it, "A red and blue blob."

M'gann giggled, clearly amused by their obliviousness, "It's at rest, silly!"

"I uh… oh."

"I'll wake it!" Turning to face the blob, M'gann held out her hand. With a wave of her hand, the ship transformed and molded itself into a large, fully functional ship.

Strike let out a low whistle, "Now that's what I'm talking about."

M'gann faced him, smiling, "I'm glad you like it!" Taking a few steps forward, M'gann made her way towards the ship, only to stop when she realized no one was following, "Well, are you guys coming?"

Strike eagerly swarmed into the Bioship, marveling at the ships interior as the cockpit molded itself like putty right before their eyes.

M'gann gestured to the five seats, "Strap in for launch!"

Jumping into the seat at the front of the ship, Strike grinned as seatbelts shot up and around him, strapping him securely in.

"This is so cool!" Wally exclaimed, marveling at his surroundings.

M'gann smiled, happy that her friends liked her Bioship. Facing forward, she spoke up, loud and clear, "Red Tornado, please open up the Bay doors."

Once the large doors had completely opened, the Bioship took to the air, smoothly sailing out.

"Incredible!" Robin exclaimed, flashing M'gann a huge grin.

From across the ship, Wally let out an audible sigh, "She sure is," He said in a dreamy voice, smiling at his crush, "I-I mean the ship. Which, like all ships, is a she."

Robin smirked, sharing a glance with Strike, "Fast with his feet, not so much with his mouth." Strike snickered behind his hand.

"Dude!" Wally protested, flushing slightly.

From the corner of his eye, Strike caught Kaldur flashing Superboy a concerned look. Facing the clone, Strike noted the semi-guilty, quite physique he was carrying.

Leaning forward, Strike whispered, "Look, Supes, I can tell you feel guilty about the whole incident earlier." Superboy gave him a questioning glance. After all, the clone thought he was doing a pretty good job hiding his emotions. "I'm a bat, trained to read people."

Kaldur chimed in, smiling softly, "We get it, you overreacted and now you feel guilty because you are not quite sure how to apologize."

"My advice to you?" Strike placed a caring hand on the clone's shoulder, "Just apologize. Say sorry. It's that easy." Strike tried to flash him a reassuring smile, but Superboy just turned back around, hopefully to digest what they just said.

Sharing a glance with Kaldur, Strike sighed. At least they tried.

"Hey!" Robin exclaimed, causing Strike to turn around, "How about showing us some Martian shape-shifting?" Strike grinned. This was going to be so cool!

M'gann nodded, smiling softly as she stood up. Within a few seconds, M'gann was gone and replaced with an exact copy of Robin. Well, almost exact. As perfect as the copy was, you could clearly tell it was a girl.

Next M'gann shifted into Strike. She had even added the hood the young hero would sometimes be seen wearing. Strike didn't wear it that often, so most of the time, it hung on his back, blending into his cape. Strike was pleasantly surprised to see his hood. Besides for a few select people and heroes, not many people knew Strike had a hood anymore. Reason being, he had used it when he was younger to try and postpone his brothers discovery of him being Strike. Now, Strike never had the heart to get rid of it. It came in handy sometimes patrolling Gotham, especially when it was drizzling and Strike could rub in his hood to Robin.

Whirling around and striking a pose, M'gann shifted a copy of Kid Flash, to which Wally drooled over, "Is it wrong that I think I'm hot?"

"Impressive!" Robin clapped, smiling giddily, "You know you're not exactly going to fool anyone with those, right?"

M'gann sat down, admitting, "Mimicking boys is a lot harder."

"And your clothes?" Kaldur questioned.

M'gann smiled, tugging on her jacket, "They're organic, as is the ship. They respond to my mental commands."

"As long as they're the only ones." Superboy grumbled, causing the group to slip into an uncomfortable silence.

Clearing his throat, Strike broke the silence, "Can you ghost through walls? Y'know, like Manhunter does?"

"Density shifting?" M'gann looked at the bat, a bit of sadness in her eyes, "No. That technique is very advanced. I'm nowhere near my Uncle's level of experience."

Robin leaned forward, "Flash can vibrate his molecules right through a wall," He paused laughing, "When he does it, bloody nose." Strike joined in with Robin's laughter. After all, he had been there the time Wally first tried the technique out.

"_Dude!"_

"_Red Tornado to Miss Martian,"_ The monotone voice of Red Tornado echoed around the small space, _"An emergency alert has been triggered at the Happy Harbor Power Plant. I suggest you investigate. Covertly, I'm sending coordinates."_

"Received. Adjusting course."

Robin scoffed, "Tornado's keeping us busy again."

"Well, a simple fire led you to Superboy," M'gann answered, "It wouldn't hurt to find out what caused the alert."

"I think I know the cause," Superboy spoke up. Snapping his head to the right, Strike's eyes widened. What the heck was a tornado doing in this part of New England?!

As M'gann attempted to control the Bioship, Strike braced himself as the tornado made impact, slamming into the Bioship. The seatbelts strapped around his chest tightened, making sure that Strike went nowhere. Which, Strike had to admit, he appreciates, but in all honesty, he could do without the bruises they were going to leave.

The tornado spun and whirled the Bioship around, eliciting cries of pain from its passengers. With a highly concentrated thought, M'gann finally steered the ship out of the tornado and into a safer area.

As soon as the Bioship touched down, Robin and Strike exited the ship, making a run for it. Stepping onto a car, Strike flipped over a few scared pedestrians before he pulled out a grapple gun. With Robin right on his heels, he launched it before the duo swung inside.

Before making their presence known, Strike and Robin paused, hiding behind a pole as they scoped out the area. The inside was trashed, debris was everywhere as the wind whipped around. Finding the source of the wind, Strike almost laughed. It was a robot, a red and black robot firing gust after gust of high powered wind. To top the robot off, he was wearing a ragged scarf.

Sharing a glance with Robin, the duo pulled out some birdarangs. Flipping over the railing, Strike flung the small weapons. They flew through the air, only to be deflected by a gust of wind.

With a pained groan, Strike was flung backwards, right into a column. Rubbing his head, Strike accepted his partners hand as Robin helped him up. Before they could launch into another attack, Superboy raced up to them, "Who's your new friend?"

"Don't know his name," Strike grumbled, staring up at the robot.

"But he plays kind of rough!" Robin concluded through clenched teeth.

"My apologies," The robot spoke, voice deep and resounding, "You may address me as Mister _Twister_."

Superboy stalked forward, arms raised as if to deflect the tornadoes. His escapade proved useless as a particularly strong gust hit him, launching him up and backwards, into the concrete wall.

Regrouping, the five teens, minus Superboy, stood up, facing the villain. With a nod from Kaldur, they attacked. While M'gann, Wally, and Kaldur went for the direct attack, Robin and Strike snuck off, each taking one side of the villain.

Wally, being the first to reach Mister Twister, was immediately caught in a tornado and flung right out of the building. M'gann and Kaldur where next to reach him, well almost reach him. Before they even could get close, they were swept up in tornadoes and flung back into columns.

Sparing a glance at his comrades, Strike pushed forward. From across the building, he made eye contact with Robin. With a quick nod, the duo sprang out, birdarangs in hand.

"Pathetic," Mister Twister said, tone almost amused. With a raise of his hands, the birdarangs were stopped and the two boys caught in tornadoes, which the villain crashed together. With a cry of pain, he threw the duo into a column, which they slid down in a heap of entangled limbs.

"I was prepared to be challenged by actual superheroes, not children." Mister Twister gloated. Though he was a robot, Strike had a sense that the villain was smirking.

Disentangling himself from Strike, Robin stood up, birdarang at the ready, "We're not children!" He cried out, snarling. With that said, he launched a small bomb, which blew up, providing cover for the birdarang, which managed to lodge itself into the villains torso.

Seemingly un-amused, Mister Twister flicked the birdarang away, "Objectively you are. Have you no adult supervision? I find your presence here quite _disturbing._"

Strike growled, shouting sarcastically, "Well we hate to see you disturbed!"

"Let's see if you're more _turbed_ once we kick your can!" Robin cried, pissed.

M'gann went for a distraction, pulling off the cover of a vent and shrouding the villain in smoke. Superboy, with an enraged cry, attacked first. He leapt towards the villain, who blew him back into M'gann.

Next, Robin, Strike and Kaldur charged forward. Before they could get close, all three were swept up by a tornado and crashed together.

Groaning, Strike propped himself up, rubbing his head as the villain floated above them.

"Indeed, that was quite turbing. Thank you."

With an annoyed growl, Strike stood up, watching as Mister Twister flew out of the building.

The five heroes walked outside just in time to see Wally get launched into the air.

"I got you Wally!" Acting quickly, M'gann caught the speedster just before he could hit the ground.

"Whoa… thanks." Wally hesitantly responded, not quite used to being lifted telepathically.

Mister Twister, upon noticing the teens, spoke up, "I would have thought you all would have learned your lesson by now. There is _no_ beating me."

"What do you want!?" Kaldur shouted, voice abnormally pissed.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm waiting for a _real_ hero." Twister taunted. Strike growled, _this guy is really starting to piss me off._

Kaldur faced M'gann, demanding, "Read his mind. Find a weakness!"

"I thought I wasn't supposed to do that?"

Strike sighed, annoyance getting the better of him, "You're more than welcome to read the bad guys minds!"

M'gann pressed a finger to her temple, concentrating on the villain. Her head snapped up, eyes widening, "Nothing. I'm getting nothing!" M'gann suddenly smacked her forehead, realizing something, "_Hello Megan!_ Mister Twister is Red Tornado in disguise."

Strike glanced up at the floating villain. It did kind of make sense, but something was still bothering Strike, he just couldn't place it.

"He's inorganic, an android! And how many androids do we know that can generate tornadoes!?" M'gann concluded her explanation.

"Red Tornado sent us here!" Kaldur said, realization dawning on him.

Robin shared a glance with Strike, "After he said we'd be tested soon enough!"

Strike groaned, "So this is his test! Something to keep us _busy!_"

"Speedy called it," Wally scoffed, voice filled with annoyance, "We're a joke."

Kaldur growled, punching his hand. Turning around, he walked towards the android, closely followed by the rest of the Team.

"We know who you are and what you want!" Robin shouted, gaining the android's attention.

"We're through playing games!" Strike called out, arms crossed.

"So let's end this." Kaldur finished.

"Consider it ended," Mister Twister said, voice dark and eerie. Raising his hands up, the sky began to turn black, wind whipping and howling around as a large storm began to brew.

"An impressive show," Kaldur shouted, studying the storm, "But we will not engage!"

Strike glanced around, taking in the building storm. A sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach alerted him of his unease. This was _not_ Red Tornado.

Lightning cracked in the sky, giving Strike a further feeling of unease. Tornado _could not_ do that, "Guys," He called out, "I don't think Tornado can do that."

Mister Twister laughed sarcastically, "You think _I'm_ Tornado? How ironic." As the last words left his robotic mouth, two large strikes of lightning struck the ground, creating a small explosion. The force of the explosion, slammed into the heroes, thrusting them back a few feet.

Groggily sitting up, Strike rubbed his head. He opened his eyes to see Mister Twister floating away from them.

"What happened?" Strike looked to his left, where Wally was currently staring at M'gann, waiting for an explanation.

"I-I place the Bioship between us." She hesitantly replied, voice filled with guilt.

Superboy punched a rock, breaking it into pieces, "And that's supposed to make it right!?" He shouted accusingly, "You tricked us into thinking Red Tornado was Mister Twister!"

"She didn't do it on purpose," Kaldur defended.

"I-it was a rookie mistake!" Robin reasoned.

"It's our faults too," Strike continued on, hands stuffed in his pockets, "We shouldn't have listened."

M'gann hung her head, taking in everything the boys said.

Wally sighed, glancing down at the girl, "You are pretty inexperienced. Hit the showers, we'll take it from here."

"Stay out of our way!" Superboy shouted, glaring slightly at the Martian before storming off.

Strike nudged Robin, whispering quietly, "Somebody has anger issues."

"No kidding."

The boys arrived at the docks of Happy Harbor to see people running amuck in panic. Tornadoes were flying around everywhere, causing debris and destruction to fly about. One particular tornado went through the water, picking up boats and spewing them into the crowd of panicking people.

As a crowd of people raced away, a little girl, no more than five, tripped. Curling into a ball, she cried as the masses of people around her continued to race by, not bothering to help the trembling child. The screams of the people increased as a boat came flying their way. Everyone scattered, leaving the child alone, just as the boat came flying her way. Right before the boat could crush her, Strike rolled in.

Snagging the child in one hand, he rolled out of the way of danger. Glancing down, he eyed the young girl for any signs of injury, "Are you okay?" The girl nodded, lifting her tear filled gaze up to him.

"Charlie!" A voice shouted. Strike glanced to his right, where a woman in her late thirties was racing their way. Meeting her halfway, Strike handed her the child, "Thank goodness you're okay!" The woman exclaimed, checking over her daughter.

As the woman was about to thank Strike, he cut her off, "There's a safe house set up in the basement of Sally's Subs. I recommend you and your daughter get there. _Now._"

The woman nodded, smiling her thanks at the boy who save her daughter. However, her face contorted into one of fear as she screamed. Spinning around, Strike went wide eyed as a tornado rammed into him, spinning him around before it deposited him on top of a car.

Strike groaned as he sat up. Sliding off the car, he stumbled before righting himself. He turned around, smiling slightly when he saw the woman and child running to safety.

"Dude! There you are!" Wally called out, skidding to a halt next to the bat, "We were starting to wonder if you got lost!"

"Please," Strike scoffed, pulling out some bombs, "Me? Get lost? Yea, right."

Wally shook his head, "True. I swear you bats have an internal GPS system or something."

With a cackle, Strike ran off. As tornadoes raced towards him, he launched his bombs, dissipating the tornadoes. Racing to the side, he ducked behind a boat. A few seconds later, Robin joined him.

"Where have you been?"

Strike faced his partner, "Saving civilians."

"We were wondering where you were."

"Aw," Strike smirked, "Did you guys miss me?"

Robin grinned, "Please, there's not much to miss!"

Strike rolled his eyes as Wally skidded up to them.

"As much fun as tornadoes are, I'm _really_ starting to get sick of them."

"You and me both," Strike agreed, pulling out his utility belt. From beside him, Robin did the same.

"You two brought your utility belts!?" Wally asked incredulously.

"Never leave him without it," Robin replied, a proud tone in his voice, "First thing Batman taught us!"

Wally rolled his eyes, muttering, "Yeah, right after never go to the bathroom without it."

"Actually," Strike spoke up, studying his birdarangs, "That's his third rule. It goes right after 'if you don't wear a cape, you can't be a bat' rule."

"What is with you and this cape thing?" Robin questioned, glancing over at his partner.

Strike shrugged, "They're deadly!"

"Since when?"

"Ever see the Incredibles? They are _very_ dangerous."

Robin rolled his eyes, ready to retort when all of a sudden, they clutched their heads in pain.

'_Listen to me,_' M'gann's voice rang in their heads,_ 'All of you.'_

"What did we tell you!?" Strike heard Superboy roar over the wind.

'_I know!'_ M'gann replied, voice firm, _'And I know I messed up. But now I am _very_ clear on what we need to do. I have a plan. Please, trust me.'_

Strike shared glances with Wally and Robin. So far, M'gann and he plan seemed to be all they had.

'_Lay it on us, Megalicious,'_ Though M'gann wasn't there to see it, Wally waggled his eyebrows.

Robin jumped out, followed by Strike and Wally. Regrouping with Kaldur and Superboy, the five walked towards Mister Twister, plan fresh in mind.

Mister Twister paused his tornadoes, causing the heroes to look up as Red Tornado flew towards them.

"Hit the showers, boys." Red Tornado said, landing on the ground, "I was hoping you could handle this. Clearly, you cannot."

Robin stepped forward, protesting, "But we have a plan now!"

"Yea," Strike agreed, "We only need a few minut-"

Red Tornado held up his hands, cutting the hero off, "This subject is not up for debate.

Strike walked away, head hung in shame followed by the others. As soon as he was out of sight, Strike ducked behind a stray boat, waiting for his cue.

There was a loud thud and Strike peered out. Lying on the ground, in a comatose like state, was Red Tornado. Mister Twister floated forward, gloating about something. As he tried to reprogram Red Tornado, M'gann's head appeared, slightly startling the villain.

Stumbling backwards, Mister Twister was swept up into Wally's tornado, thrusting him backwards into Superboy's fist. A particularly powerful punch from Superboy sent the android spiraling backwards, right into the water, Kaldur's domain. There was a loud explosion and Mister Twister came flying out of the water.

In his weakened state, he became no match for the young heroes as M'gann caught him mid air. Her eyes glowed green as she telepathically ripped the arms off the android. Before she dropped him, Strike and Robin leapt up, releasing their birdarangs, which, upon contact, exploded and further weakened the android.

Finally, with a loud thump, Mister Twister landed on the ground, completely defenseless and weak. As the heroes approached him, he sat up on his knees before the body opened up to reveal a man, who looked scraggly and weak, falling to the ground.

"Foul. I-I-I call foul!" The man mumbled, picking himself up. Strike noted how he quaked in fear as the approached him.

Reaching to the side, M'gann picked up a large rock before, with a wave of her hand, the rock came crashing down, right on top of the scraggly man.

There was an awful crunching sound as the man was crushed to death. Strike's eyes widened, disbelieving what he just saw. M'gann had always seemed so sweet. He couldn't believe she'd do something like this!

Robin approached M'gann, anger radiating off him in waves, "Don't know how things are done on Mars, but on _Earth_ we don't _execute_ our captives!"

Strike stormed up to the Martian, "What the hell were you thinking!?"

M'gann just smirked, causing Strike to narrow his eyes, "You said you trusted me." Raising her hand, she removed the rock to reveal… an _android_?

Strike shook his head, anger dissipating. Of course M'gann would never kill! She's way too sweet.

"That's why I couldn't read his mind!" M'gann smiled in satisfaction, clearly enjoying her company's astonishment.

Swooping down, Wally picked up an eyeball, already having forgiven M'gann completely, "Cool! Souvenir."

"We should have had more faith in you." Kaldur admitted, smiling.

"Yea, you _rocked_ this mission! Get it? _Rocked_?" Wally joked.

Strike rolled his eyes, grinning, "It'd be best if you ignored him."

"Yea," Robin spoke up, "We're all just turbed you're on the Team!"

M'gann smiled softly, thankful she had a place of her own, "Thanks. Me too."

Bending down, Strike picked up a hand, "Think we should take this to Tornado?"

"Sure!" Wally sped over, snagging the hand from Strike, "But first, M'gann I gotta _hand_ it to you. You did a great job!" Strike groaned, not enjoying Wally's _puns_. Taking the hand back, Strike smacked Wally upside the head with it before he dropped it back onto the pile.

"Ow!" The speedster protested, rubbing his sore skull, "That was uncalled for!"

"You're uncalled for," Strike muttered, walking off.

* * *

As soon as they had made it back to the Cave, the leftover parts were deposited on an examination table. After they debriefed Red Tornado, the Team stood around, watching as he studied the remains.

"It was clearly made to sabotage or destroy you." Kaldur reported.

"Agreed," Red Tornado spoke, voice as robotic as ever.

"Is that why you wouldn't help us?" M'gann asked.

"No, this was your battle. I do not believe it is my role to solve your problems for you. Nor should you solve mine for me."

"But… if you're in dange-"

"Consider this matter closed." Red Tornado said. Turning on his heel, he exited the room.

Strike stretched, "An emotionless android for a den mother? This'll be interesting."

Wally stared at Red Tornado's retreating form, "Batman, Aquaman, and Flash. They all would've stepped right in to fix things."

Robin sighed, gesturing to Red Tornado, "I guess if we're going to have a babysitter, a heartless machine is _exactly_ what we need."

"Dude, _harsh_."

"And inaccurate." Red Tornado spoke up, alerting the Team he was still there, "I may seem emotionless," Strike smiled sheepishly, "But that doesn't mean I don't have emotions. I just show them in a different way than you humans do. Prior to contrary belief, I have a heart, one made of carbon and steel alloy." He turned around just before fully leaving, "I also have excellent hearing."

Robin let out a nervous laugh, sharing a glance with Strike, "Right. Sorry. We'll strive to be more accurate."

"And more respectful," Kaldur stepped forward, placing a hand on the two young bats shoulders.

Falling in to line with Wally, Robin and Kaldur, Strike exited the main room.

"Speedy was so wrong." Wally started.

"This Team thing," Robin continued.

"That we have going on," Strike smiled.

"Might just work out." Kaldur concluded.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you all for the feedback! I appreciate it and remember, review! It makes me happy to see your guys' thoughts and comments! :D**


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